Tragedy of the Chessboard
by Codyknight22
Summary: Team RWBY, a legend, the ones held to a gold standard. But even the mighty suffer loses. Read along for the buildup of how they lost someone, and how they dealt with it. Rated M for the eventual darkness that'll appear. Angst comes somewhat later on in the story.
1. Chapter 1

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 1

**Title might change. Some pre-story stuff that I don't want to an intro on {because if you've read any of my other stuff, I don't do intros because I actually dislike intros}. This takes place in the final year of school for RWBY. White Rose and Bumblebee is in effect, but doesn't really change their behavior too much, only terminology. Description fills in what to expect of this story otherwise.**

He quietly lit up another cigar. He carefully looked over the map, and slammed his fist angrily on the table. They had ruined his operation, again! They were becoming a much larger issue, and it was coming time to stop them He needed her approval, but that shouldn't be too much of an issue. She could see exactly why he needed the girls out of the way. He looked over the pictures, the four images of the four girls, and he brought the tip of his cigar to each of them. _Soon you will all burn, _he thought. _And when you do, I'll be right there to watch. _He tossed the pictures to the side, and started to walk towards his employer.

_Beacon Academy: Team RWBY's Dorm_

The door opened up, and the four girls entered into the dorm. Ruby and Yang were loudly celebrating, while Weiss and Blake just looked on in silence.

"Yeah, we got him again," Yang exclaimed.

"We sure showed him," Ruby added in. They looked over to their silent teammates, and tried to get them to raise their energy. "Come on guys," Ruby whined. "We stopped Torchwick again. You guys can celebrate every once in a while." Weiss let out a heavy sigh, and looked down at their eager leader.

"Ruby," she said. "It's one win, and it's a minor win. There is no reason to celebrate this much."

"Come on Weiss, lighten up," Yang tried. "It's not just this win, it's all the others."

"Blake," Weiss said. "Help me out." Blake just shrugged, and jumped onto her bed. "Blake!"

"Sorry Weiss," Blake said. "You're on your own." Blake opened up her book, and started to read.

"And suddenly, she's clamming up," Yang mumbled.

"Thank you for not saying the cat has my tongue," Blake replied, without looking up at all.

"Eh, cat puns are overused." Ruby hadn't yet given up on her partner. She continued to pester and tease her, trying to get Weiss to celebrate a little bit.

"Come on Weiss," Ruby begged. "It's not just this win, it's all of the others that we have too. Just celebrate a little bit."

"Ruby," Weiss said. "You are nothing, if not persistent." Ruby's eyes got wide with hope. "But it won't work on me." Ruby deflated slightly.

"But Weeeeeiisssss," she whined. "Please? For me?" Weiss gave her partner a hard stare.

"No," she said, completely shutting down Ruby.

"Come on Weiss," Blake said. "You can't blatantly reject her like that."

"Watch me."

"Weiss," Yang said hostily. "Just remember, this is my little sister."

"And?" Weiss challenged. That was the wrong answer with Yang. Small flames started to dance around her.

"Don't, hurt, my, baby, sister," Yang said, breathing heavily in between each breath.

"Yang," Ruby said. "It's fine." All of the the flames dispersed, and Yang smiled.

"I know little sis," she said cheerfully. "I'm just giving her a hard time."

"After all this time," Weiss started. "And you still do that." Yang smiled, and nudged Weiss. Ruby smiled, but saw a message from Ozpin.

_Do not think this is an excuse to get out of your classes. You'll be late if you don't hurry._

"Ah crap," Ruby stated. "I forgot about class." Everyone suddenly panicked, and grabbed their books.

_Unknown Location_

She let the fire dance in her hand. The scroll laid out in front of her displayed the four girls. All of them acting as they were, children. They were nothing more then children meddling in adult affairs, so why were they so effective against her? Either way, he had raised a good point to her. They needed to be taken care of, and that meant that she would have to find a way. No matter what, one of them was going to have to fall.

"Cinder," someone said. She turned angrily.

"What?" She asked, somewhat impatiently.

"What do you say to my proposition?"

"Well, Roman, I think you know the answer to that. We have no other choice but to deal with them. They've been doing nothing, _but, _causing us problems." She snuffed the flames in her hand. "They need to fall."

"What are we going to do?" Torchwick asked, holding out his cane. Cinder pondered this for a moment, but then made up her mind.

"We attack. We find a way to draw them out, and we take them down. Or even, we only need one to fall for now. The others will crumple at the sight. Think of it Roman, for so long, they're all that has been with each other. One will fall, and the others will begin to crumple with them." Torchwick smiled, and lit another one of his cigars.

"When do we begin?" He asked, puffing out some smoke from his cigar as he spoke.

"We begin the setup, right now."

_Advanced Grimm Studies: Peter Port_

Team RWBY ran into class just as the bell rang, and took their seats quickly.

"How kind of the hero's to rejoin us," Port said.

"Sorry," RWBY said in unison.

"It is fine, you made it in time for class. Now, let us begin. Who can tell me the weakest point on a Beowolf?" Someone raised their hand, and gave the correct answer. Port, of course, took that as a gateway into another one of his tales. Team RWBY stopped paying attention at that point. In the past, Weiss had tried to fight it. She had tried to stay interested in his stories, tried to go against the flow of her class. But there was never anything in them that was vital to class, and as soon as she realized this, she had stopped listening. Port had reached the point in the story that he became completely absorbed in his tale, no longer paying much attention to his students. Yang immediately leaned into Blake, and lightly rested her head on Blake's shoulder.

"Yang," Blake hissed. "Get off of me." Yang reluctantly lifted her head off of her partner's shoulder. Next, Yang tried to sneak her arm around Blake. Once again, Blake pushed away her arm.

"But Blakey," Yang whined. "Please."

"You sound like Ruby," Blake said simply, turning her attention to her book. Yang let out a deep sigh, finally giving up on trying to be romantic with her partner.

Weiss would of have killed for her partner to make romantic advances, anything but what she was doing. Ruby was quietly stacking her books on her pencils, seeing how high she could get it. Weiss just kept her eye on it, worried that it could topple at any moment.

"Ruby," she said cautiously. "I don't think you should do that."

"Uggh," Ruby said. "Why?"

"Because if it falls, we'll get in trouble." Ruby sighed, and complied with her partner's wishes. She slowly disassembled the stack, and went about placing her books in a stable stack.

"You never let me have fun," Ruby whined.

"I'm not supposed to," Weiss replied. Over the years, the two had developed a very strict relationship. Weiss kept Ruby's energy in check, while Ruby helped Weiss be less serious. It worked for them, but sometimes there was no happy compromise.

"And that is how I saved the town from the Beowolves," Port finished. "Now, onto your lesson. Open up your books to chapter 75."

_Beacon Academy: Ozpin's Office_

He looked down at his scroll, and flipped around through the police files. Despite all the success that RWBY was having, his ace still hadn't worked out where they were. He walked over to a chessboard, and carefully moved a black pawn several pieces up. He reached over to his scroll, and typed out a message.

_Pawn to B 5_

He set it down, and walked backed to his desk.

**End: I did all I could to avoid a shorter chapter, but I didn't want to lay out all of the pieces. I apologize, hopefully the length will increase over time. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is greatly appreciated, especially since this is a new story.**


	2. Chapter 2

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 2

**New story name. I felt it was appropriate for the theme I was going to keep up.**

He tipped out the ash from his cigar, and tossed it into the ash tray. He looked down at the map that was laid out in front of him, and groaned heavily. No matter what point he seemed to pick, those girls seemed to get to him quickly. Suddenly, he was struck with inspiration. He looked down at one of the points, and circled it. _I may not be able to go undisturbed, _he thought. _But at the very least, I can prepare for their attacks. _He picked up his cane, and went to report his findings.

_Beacon Academy: Ozpin's Office_

He sat down at his desk, and pulled out his scroll. He saw that he had already replied, and Ozpin had to smile.

_Queen has pawns, again._

Ozpin put away the scroll, and moved the black queen in place of the pawn he had just moved. He looked over the board, and wondered what exactly the position was. His opponent was most certainly a worthy adversary, able to match him in terms of brains. But every man had their equal, and this game helped exercise his mind, prepare him for what was going on around him. He picked up the knight piece, and set it down.

_Knight has rook_

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

The four girls walked in, and tossed their items onto their beds. All four of them let out an audible groan from their day at Advanced Grimm Studies. None of them actually enjoyed that class, especially not with Port. He had a large personality, and he was a wonderful hunter, but he was too boisterous. It bothered all of the girls, and it made it difficult to maintain interest. Weiss pulled out her books to study, and Blake pulled out a book for pleasure. Yang checked over her hair for any imperfections, as such a thing simply would never stand with her. She was very self confident, and very rarely did anyone's opinion {outside of Ruby and Blake} matter to her. But there really was one thing that she cared for, and that was her beast of a mane. Ruby sat down on her bed, and waited for the perfect moment to intrude on Weiss' studies.

Weiss turned the page again, and groaned loudly. She had finished up studying, and that only ever meant one thing. Ruby's head slowly dropped down from her bunk, her eyes like an upside down gopher.

"Hey Weiss," she said. "What you doing?" Weiss sighed. She really did like Ruby, but the girl had developed a knack for getting under her skin.

"I'm studying," Weiss replied.

"That's not what it sounds like," Ruby replied. "Generally, that groan means you're done studying." Weiss groaned again. "And that means that I'm right, and you hate to admit it."

"You're not right," Weiss snapped. Ruby now jumped down from her bunk, and landed next to Weiss. Ruby curled up with the heiress, and wrapped her arms around her.

"Come on Weiss," Ruby begged. "You don't have to keep it up anymore." Weiss gave in, realizing, that not for the first time, Ruby would never give in. Weiss wrapped one arm around Weiss, and then used the other one to put away her book.

"Fine," Weiss said. "We can do this, for a little bit." Ruby rested her head on Weiss' chest, and felt her chest move up and down from the breathing. It slowly got heavier, and soon, both girls fell asleep.

Yang finally finished up her hair, and walked over to Ruby's bunk. She opened up her mouth, but quickly closed it at the sight in front of her. Ruby's head rested on Weiss' chest, while Weiss' rested on her head. Both girls were breathing heavily, and both of their eyes were closed. Yang allowed herself to smile. It was rare that they actually fell asleep, and it was always a heart warming sight for Yang. Yang grabbed the blankets, and pulled them over the two lovers.

"Sweet dreams baby sis," she whispered silently. Yang backed away, and looked over at Blake.

"No," Blake said immediately, never taking a moment to look up from her book.

"Come on Blakey," Yang said. "Please? I mean, Ruby and Weiss are doing it."

"Yang, I said no. That is my final answer."

"If you don't change your answer, I will start making cat puns." Blake looked up from her book, and her gaze narrowed.

"You wouldn't?" She asked fearfully.

"Oh, but I would kitty cat," Yang replied. Blake sighed, and put marked her page. She moved to the side, and Yang quickly pumped her fist in celebration, and jumped in next to Blake. Blake leaned her head on Yang's chest, for the reason of there being more cushion on Yang's chest then Blake's, and let Yang brush her hair back. Blake realized that she was enjoying herself, and she let out a small purr. Immediately, Blake realized why. She brought her gaze up, and saw her ribbon flying freely.

"Yang," Blake said.

"Oh come on," Yang said. "You purred, and that means you enjoyed it." Blake sighed, but it was one of happiness.

"Fine," she gave in. Yang continued to scratch her ears, and Blake let out another purr. Blake found her eyes drooping, and she tried to fight it. But it was almost to no use. Yang just had a way with her, her aura always emitting a warm field, the perfect level of warm. Blake wasn't burning up, but she felt safe, relaxed, feelings that only Yang could give her. Two years ago, Blake had been forced to confront her former partner, the results not being pleasant. She had been forced to kill him, and that was the day that Blake had completely broken down. She cried over his body, and she had never felt that alone in her life.

Her head had rested on his chest, as her tears fell over the newly opened wound in his body. She never wanted to kill him, but Adam left her no choice. Their relationship having been more then partners, but at times it seemed like so much more. But he had betrayed her. Plunged a dagger into her heart, and seemingly rip it out with his voice. She never thought that she could trust anyone again, but then a miracle happened. Yang wrapped her arms around Blake, and pulled her in close.

"Shhh," she had whispered. "It's okay, you'll be okay."

"He's gone," she had sobbed. "He was the best part of my life, and now he's gone."

"He can't be that anymore Blake, but you have other people to fill that void in your life. You have me." Yang had turned Blake's face into her own, and pulled her into a deep kiss. After pulling out, Blake faced her partner, the emotion on her face impossible to read, and impossible to describe. "I will always be there for you."

Blake snapped back to reality, and looked up at Yang.

"Blake?" Yang asked softly. "You're crying." Blake gently dabbed at her face, and brought her arms around Yang.

"I was just thinking of your promise," she said. "And wondering how true it was." Yang smiled, and brushed away Blake's hair.

"Hey, I haven't failed you yet, have I? And I promised you then, I never will fail you." She pulled Blake in for a kiss, the warmth being exchanged between their bodies comforting both of them considerably. When they pulled out, Yang went to leave. Blake pulled her back into the bed, and looked pleadingly at her.

"Please Yang," she said. "Don't go. I don't want you to go yet." Yang smiled, and curled up with Blake again.

"Anything for you, little kitty," Yang replied sweetly. Blake smiled, and pulled Yang close to her.

_Unknown Location_

She lit another ball of fire, and looked over the map that was handed to her. Everything about it made sense, and it fitted her style perfectly. The manipulation, the cruelty, the length off time it would take to pull this off. Everything about it screamed perfect, so perfect that something had to go wrong. But that was where her planning came into play. She wouldn't use her queen piece just yet, that would be saved in case step one faced worse results then before. No, nothing but pawns would be used for right now. And that suited both of them just fine.

**End: Once again, I'm going to apologize for the length. It'll hopefully be soon when they can pick up in length, but I did warn you about the shipping in this. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 3

**Odds are, this chapter might be somewhat short as well. I'm really doing what I can to pick up the length, but I'm having some difficulty with it.**

He fired off another round from his cane, and looked at the targets. All of them, gone. Of what a perfect world it would of have been if these could of have been real, but it didn't matter to him. Either way, he had his hopes set high. It was coming so close to the time that the plan would being, that maybe their suffering could come soon. He set down his cane, and piled in some more dust rounds. He walked away from the range, and lit yet another cigar. Yes, their time would come soon. And when it did, he would be right there to see it come.

_Beacon Academy: Team RWBY's Dorm_

Weiss' eyes slowly fluttered open, and she looked down to see that Ruby was still slumbering on her chest. Weiss smiled at how innocent her partner looked. She slowly started to brush back her hair, letting her rest for a little while longer. The team hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, so it made sense that her partner would be so crashed. Her mind wandered back to the previous night, and she realized why Ruby was so tired.

"It's fine Weiss," Ruby had said. "I'll keep up this watch."

"Are you sure?" Weiss had asked, part of her hoping that she would yes, the other part hoping that she would decline.

"Yeah," Ruby had replied. "Just get some rest."

Yes, that must of have been the reason that Weiss was up, while Ruby slept. Now, Weiss felt obligated to allow Ruby to sleep. She looked over, and saw Yang petting Blake, who was resting her head on Yang's chest. Yang looked over, and saw that Weiss was up, while Ruby remained asleep.

"Are you going to wake her up?" Yang asked quietly.

"No," Weiss replied. "She had a long night. And I really don't mind all that much." Yang nodded, and Blake curled up a little bit more with Yang. Weiss' mind wandered again, and she was brought back to the crazy period of time when her and Ruby's real relationship had begun.

It was shortly after Blake had killed Adam. Neither Ruby nor Weiss knew about her and Yang's relationship, but they did notice that they had started to spend a lot of time together. Blake's heart obviously ached, but the blonde brawler seemed to have a healing touch with the broken cat faunus. That had brought Weiss' heart closer to realizing what she wanted. But it scared her. Ruby Rose, the little red girl that had done nothing but get under her skin since they had become partners, was the one whom had stolen Weiss' heart. The cold, bitchy, mean, heiress that seemingly hated everyone on her team, had fallen under the embrace of the innocence and optimism of Ruby Rose. But she never would of have admitted it.

Her mind jumped her forward to a few days after that event had taken place. She was lying in her bed, the dorm empty besides her. Yang had taken out Blake to get something to eat, for it was one of her harder days. Ruby had left for her reasons, more then likely to make modifications to Crescent Rose. Sometimes, Weiss envied that weapon. It seemed that was what Ruby cared for the most, and she had certainly spent most of her attention on it. Of course, Weiss never would of have told Ruby that. It would reveal how Weiss felt, and that wasn't something that she had wanted. The door had silently opened up, and Weiss looked over to see Ruby. Crescent Rose in her hands, and tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Weiss had asked, her voice very tender and hopeful. Maybe there was a way she could show her affection towards Ruby, without doing something to spoil everything that she had worked so hard to conceal.

"It's nothing," Ruby had replied, the tears plainly evident on her rosy cheeks.

"Ruby, it doesn't look like nothing. Please, let me help you." Ruby had wiped her eyes, and just silently climbed onto her bunk, refusing to say a word to Weiss. Weiss silently climbed onto her partner's bunk, and brushed back Ruby's hair. "What is it?" Weiss had asked, staring directly in her eyes.

"I'm just worried," Ruby had said. "Yang is spending so much time with Blake, and I'm losing her."

"You're not losing her," Weiss had said, her hand absentmindedly tracing along Ruby's hair.

"Yes, I am. I'm just so close with her, and I don't know if anyone else on the team feels the same way that Yang does about me." Weiss' heart was breaking. Her partner was sitting there, in tears, and the words that she had said rung so true with how Weiss had acted.

"You have me," Weiss had said.

"But you don't really like me," Ruby had sobbed. "You take great care to admit that." Weiss' heart had a thousand daggers with it, and Ruby was just bringing it out of her chest. Weiss had her decision, and gently pulled Ruby in close.

"Ruby," she had whispered. "I do like you, I like you a lot."

"Stop just trying to make me feel better," Ruby cried. Her breath had finally reached Weiss' nose, and she realized that her partner had had a few drinks.

"Have you been drinking?" Weiss had asked. Ruby nodded. Weiss realized that the odds that her partner would remember this were low, and it filled her with a new sense confidence. She pulled Ruby close, and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Weiss pulled out, and looked at her partner's shock.

"Weiss?" Ruby had asked.

"Ruby, I care about you more then you know. Please, don't ever say that I don't care about you."

"Weiss... I..." Ruby stopped, unsure of what to do or say. She finally just curled up with Weiss, and they lay there until Blake and Yang returned.

The next day, Ruby would wake up, still within Weiss' embrace. She had fallen asleep on the heiress' stomach, and Weiss hadn't wanted to disturb her. It only took Ruby a few moments for her to remember what had happened, and she gently rested with Weiss for the rest of the day.

Weiss was snapped into reality when Ruby began to stir. She looked up groggily at Weiss.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked. "How long was I out?"

"A long time," Weiss replied softly. "You had a big day yesterday." Ruby nodded, and curled up with Weiss a little bit more.

"Don't go yet," Ruby begged.

"I won't," Weiss replied. "I promise, I won't."

_Ozpin's Office_

Ozpin looked over the board, and thought for a long time. Any mood that he would make, would almost certainly result in a loss. Sometimes, one had to take calculated risks in a good game of chess.

**End: Finally past everything. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 4

**One question that I will address because I meant to clarify it at the start of the story, but I can be pretty forgetful. This will be an OC free story {save maybe one or two one offs if I deem them necessary}. This actually will be my only OC free story, so I think it might lack a little because of it. I do apologize if I do.**

She reviewed over the plan, and lit up a ball of flames. This movement was almost second nature to her. Nothing more then a way to express her feelings, and signify that now may not of have been the best time to talk to her. This strategy was perfect. They already had people picked out, and the bonus would be more then enough to get them to march straight to their deaths. _Sometimes, _she thought. _Sacrificing a pawn is nothing bad, and these are just the perfect pawns to do so._

"Ma'am," someone said. She turned angrily, but her expression changed when she saw exactly who it was. One of the pawns that she wished to use. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," she said. "Yes I believe I did. I need someone to lead a small dust heist." He paused, and looked at her suspiciously. "Roman is going to be busy," she quickly explained. "I need someone else to lead this."

"Any reason you selected me?" He asked suspiciously.

"Simple," she said. "I needed someone, and you happened to be available."

"I'm not doing it," he said, backing up. "You're not paying us to lead a heist alone." She pulled out a case, and opened it up. Several thousand lien remained inside of the case, thus making him move unconsciously closer. Just as he was hovering over it, she slammed it close.

"For after the mission," she said. "If you return with the dust, your squad will receive one of these cases." The man nodded, and left to get his team. A man emerged from the shadows, and looked over at her. "You know what to do," she said quickly. "Get on the airship, and prepare to watch over." He nodded, and pivoted towards the airship bay.

_Beacon Academy: Team RWBY's Dorm: Morning_

Ruby awoke, and gently moved her head up. She saw Weiss still asleep, and she gently lifted her head off of her partner's chest. Ruby slowly climbed out of Weiss' bed, and walked into the bathroom. She washed off her face, and looked down at her clothes. It was the same outfit that she had worn the day before, and she decided that maybe it was time to get rid of it. She gently peeled off the layer of clothing, and noticed the almost solid layer of grime that rested on her skin beneath it. She let out a heavy sigh, and threw her clothing into the hamper. Ruby gently stepped into the shower, and turned the water to a higher heat. She felt the water pour down her skin, and she sighed in satisfaction. The heat of the water felt very soothing, and it released all of her muscles of their aches. She had made a poor decision the day before when she decided to lay with Weiss as apposed to stretching out her muscles, thus making the tension in them very high. She continued to let the water run down her, and slowly scrubbed off the particles that rested on her skin.

Yang was the next one to awake. Unlike her sister, she had stretched out and cleaned off the night before. Yang looked down, and saw Blake resting lightly on her chest still. Yang smiled, and reached for a pillow. She gently pushed Blake off of her chest, and rested down her partner's head on the pillow.

"Sleep tight little kitty," Yang whispered. She gently stood up, and changed into her normal attire. Yang watched over Blake while she was resting, and then swung her gaze over to Weiss' bed. She saw that Weiss was resting on her own, and that Ruby was absent from both beds. Yang walked over to the bathroom, and the door opened up. Ruby looked at her big sister in temporary surprise. Ruby instinctively covered up her chest, and Yang chuckled softly.

"Hey sis," Ruby said. "I didn't know you were up."

"I just got up," Yang whispered.

"Is anyone else up?" Ruby asked hesitantly.

"You're safe," Yang assured her. "But just in case, I'll grab you some clothes." Ruby nodded appreciatively. Yang grabbed her sisters spare set of clothing, and walked back to the bathroom. Ruby reached out to grab them, but Yang held them up in the air. "Who's the best big sister in the world?" Yang asked.

"You," Ruby grumbled.

"What was that?" Yang teased.

"You," Ruby said louder. Yang tossed over the clothes, and Ruby quickly put them on. Ruby immediately walked over to her bunk, and silently picked up Crescent Rose.

"Where are you going?" Yang asked.

"I was going to wait for Weiss, see if she wanted breakfast."

"Come on Ruby, you and I haven't spent a lot of time together as of late. How about I take you out for breakfast?" Ruby smiled at her sister. Sometimes, Yang was incredibly infuriating. More often then not, she was a very sweet person and genuinely caring for Ruby. Ruby walked to the door, and looked back at her sister. Yang smiled at her baby sister, and walked outside with her.

Weiss awoke to the sound of the door closing. She sleepily sat up, and then almost tried to bring herself down again. She looked down at her chest, and noticed the absence of her leader. Weiss sighed, and then stood up. She quickly dusted off her pajamas, and looked over at the other three beds. Ruby hadn't entered her own bed, and only Yang was missing as well. That meant that the sisters had left, presumably for breakfast. Weiss sighed, and started to strip out of her pajamas, and gently place on her own clothes. Part way through the process, she realized that she hadn't seen Blake. She turned around, and sighed gratefully. The door to the bathroom was closed, which meant that she must of have been in there.

Weiss finished putting on her clothes, and briefly considered breakfast. She checked down, and realized that there was no part of her that wanted to consume food. Weiss just sat on her bed, and pulled out a book. As soon as she began to study, the door to the restroom opened up. Blake walked out, and wordlessly entered her own bed. It had been four years since the initial falling out between Blake and Weiss, and they had come so far.

Despite how quickly Weiss had agreed to trust Blake, the issue hadn't truly resolved itself until a while after. Every interaction between the two girls were as clashing as their colors. It would be long periods of awkward silence, and the occasional strange, incoherent, sentence. Weiss still emitted a cold energy, while Blake's silence offered nothing more then the image of a girl that wished to left alone. It was around the third month that Blake had taken matters into her own hands.

"Listen Weiss," Blake had said. "We're going to be teammates, and we really don't have much of a choice other then to work with each other. Either we request different teams, or we work together." Weiss had been surprised by Blake's blunt approach, but it served it's purpose. Since then, the two girls had been friends. They were never really close, but they worked perfectly fine together. The time they spent together had been decreased when they both became romantically involved with the sisters. It was rare that Yang was willing to let Blake out of her sight, and Ruby was very clingy when it came to Weiss.

Weiss brought herself back to the present, and chided herself for letting her slip so easily into the past so many times in the past day. She looked over at Blake, and saw that she had pulled out her book. Weiss didn't know why she was so surprised. She only ever read books for education, but Blake always did it for pleasure. What pleasure was there in reading a book? Weiss had never been forced to do anything, other then study and train. It was something her father had hammered into her for a very long time. _There is nothing more important then making sure that you're well versed in your education, and that you can defend yourself, _he had said. _Otherwise, you're left as an incompetent leader, and that is not something I wish upon my company. _

Imagine the surprise when Weiss requested to go to Beacon Academy. How he had wanted her to just stay, and learn how to run the company. But daddy could never refuse his daughter's wishes for very long. For once, Weiss getting what she wanted would turn out to benefit her in the long run.

Blake briefly looked up at Weiss. It was the first time her and the heiress had been alone in a month. Blake was fine with the heiress. After the true make up between them, Blake had explained why the White Fang was targeting the Schnee Dust Company, and Weiss had tried to put in a good word with her father. Remarkably, the word that the company had improved labor rights for the faunus had caused the halting of attacks on them from the White Fang. Weiss had become completely trusting of Blake, and her view of faunus had changed overall.

"So," Weiss said awkwardly, bringing Blake back to the present situation. "Do you want to get something to eat?" Blake rolled her eyes, and closed her book.

"Sure," she said.

_Small Cafe: Ruby and Yang_

The two girls chewed their way through the small plates laid out before them. With the restrictions of their normal company lifted, both girls talked with their mouths full and spilled food everywhere. In a situation with them, and them alone, neither of them were very neat while eating. Yang's very bashful, hit first ask questions later, personality lead her to do things that were very erratic, and eating was one of the worst points for her. Blake's presence had gotten her to a point where she at least chewed her food first, and swallowed neatly. However, when she was left alone with her sister, she resorted back to her usual habits. Ruby only ate this way, because Yang did. She had spent so much alone time with her older sister, that most of her habits had been picked up from her. They would of have continued to eat, if not for a message.

_You're needed at Beacon's Airfield. A small robbery at a local dust shop._

Ruby looked up at Yang, and saw that they had received the same message. They both nodded, and left for the airfield.

_Local Dust Shop: A while later_

He remained hidden in the shadows. He had one of their better sniper teams with him, keeping a close eye on the situation. Every detail of what would occur was necessary for their future operation, and three sets of eyes were certainly the best way to go about doing it. This one operation, was going to determine what they were going to do in the next one. Nothing that they were going to do between now and then, was going to be more important then this one moment.

_Team RWBY's Airship_

They landed a block away from the dust shop. The quicker they could end this, the more sleep they would get. Ruby silently pulled out her scythe, and the rest of her team followed suit.

"Wait for us here," Ruby told the pilot. "Keep the engines off." The pilot nodded, and flicked off his engines. Team RWBY walked through the streets, and found their target. There were 15 men, all of them dressed in matching attire. Black suits, red ties, red sunglasses, and black fedora's. Team RWBY recognized who they worked for, and they checked around some more. They were the only ones in the area. Something seemed off about it to them, but it couldn't compromise the mission.

_Inside the Dust Shop_

Two of the guards had raised up rifles at the shopkeeper, while 11 of the others went about gathering dust. The other two kept watch over the streets, making sure that there were no unpleasant surprises.

"Just keep still," one of the guards said. "You move in some way that we don't want to, I pull the trigger." The shopkeeper nodded, and kept his hands in the air.

"Sir," one of the guards at the window said. "I think someone's out there."

"Kill him," the leader said annoyedly.

"Oh shit," the second one said. "Sir, it's-." Before he could finish, something crashed through the window, and slammed into him. The other guard turned, but something else smashed through the window, and slammed into him. The only other guards with their rifles turned in the direction of the noise, but they quickly felt two blades go through them. The leader turned around, and his heart dropped at the sight laid out in front of him. The four girls, the four that he had thought would be busy, team RWBY.

"Suuurprriiiise," Yang said, her fists raised.

"You were supposed to be busy," he said angrily.

"We took a rain check," Ruby added in, her scythe raised. "I suggest that you put away your weapons, before we decide to act out." Before the leader could give a signal, one of the guards pulled out a pistol. He fired off several rounds, but Weiss saw the attack coming. She raised up a glyph, and stopped all of the rounds from reaching them. Ruby turned around, and fired off a shot from Crescent Rose. The guard that had raised the pistol, had part of his head taken off. The other guards turned at the noise, and team RWBY took that as their cue.

Weiss flew forward, and brought her rapier into one of the guard's chests. Blake lunged forward, and swung around her katana upwards into one of the guards chins. Yang swung her fist forward, and shattered one of the guards jaws. Ruby swung around her scythe and took out another one of the guards. She fired off another shot, and swung around her blade into another one of the guards. Yang wildly swung her fist at another guard, catching him directly in the chest. He could feel his ribs shatter, and he grunted loudly. Yang fired off a shot, and brought her elbow into his throat, effectively crushing his windpipe. Weiss swung around a line of ice at another one of the guards, stopping all of his momentum. She easily put her rapier through his throat, and ended it quickly. Blake threw forward her ribbon, getting the blade lodged within one of the guards into his chest. Weiss swung around her sword, bringing down a guard to his knees. Ruby quickly followed up, and loped off his head with her scythe. Yang brought her fist into one of the guards stomach's, and Blake swung around her cleaver into his neck.

The leader raised up a rifle, realizing that he was hopelessly outnumbered. If he didn't die now, they would arrange for his death in prison, of that much he was sure. Maybe he could take one of them out. Before he got the chance, a yellow dust round exploded into his stomach, relieving him of his breath. A bullet slammed into his shoulder, causing him to almost drop the rifle. He tried to bring it up again, but a line of ice hit him in the knees. He raised up his rifle one more time, but another shot caught him in the throat, effectively ending any attempts that he would make.

Ruby lowered her scythe, and looked over the bodies. She turned to face the slightly terrified shopkeeper.

"You're safe now," she said.

"Safe?" He asked. "You're saying that I'm fucking safe?!"

"Well," Ruby said. "Yeah. I mean, they're all dead now."

"I got bodies piling in my fucking shop!" He screamed. "It's a miracle I'm still alive! That none of the fucking dust exploded and KILLED ALL OF US!"

"Clearly we should of let you be robbed," Weiss said, turning her head away from him.

"Fine," the shopkeeper said. "Thank you, I guess."

"You're welcome," Blake said dryly. Yang just gave him a hard stare. Blake turned to see that her eyes were transitioning from their normal lilac, to the dangerous red. Blake nudged her, and Yang didn't calm down. Finally, Blake slipped her hand into Yang's, and squeezed gently.

"Fine," Yang gave in. "You're welcome." The shopkeeper just grumbled, and looked over the bodies.

"I hope you plan on someone coming in to get them," the shopkeeper said. "I'm not cleaning this shit up."

"Don't worry," Ruby reassured him. "Someone should be in soon. We will need you to vacate the shop."

"Might as well. Before this shit starts to stink up the room." The shopkeeper grabbed a small bag of his items, and fled the shop. Ruby looked over the corpses, and requested that Weiss call it in. Something troubled her, but she couldn't quite place as to what it was. _You were supposed to be busy. _The words rang through her mind, and it was bothering her. Why would they think that they were busy?

_Nearby_

He stepped away from the shadows, and gestured for the two snipers to follow along. They had gotten the information that they needed, and now it was time to plan for the future.

_White Knight has Pawns_

**End: Finally, a longer chapter. Enjoyed writing this, and I'm going to really try and establish the dynamic between each of the teammates besides Ruby and Yang as time goes {the reason I'm leaving them out is because their dynamic is really already understood}. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	5. Chapter 5

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 5

**For anyone reading this at the same time as CoG {Child of Grimm, I'll probably only do one chapter at a time for that, while I hope to do a few chapters of this in a day. It really is just the new story feel, and I'm sure it'll wear off {just kidding, but this story has a planned ending}.**

He walked down the hallways, a smile evident behind the glow of his cigar. The plan had gone perfectly, and they had eliminated 15 contracts as an added bonus. He knocked gently on the door, and waited on it to open. As soon as it did, she looked expectingly at him.

"We know what to expect," he said. "Every detail on how they'll approach."

"Excellent work Roman," she replied. "And what of the guards sent to take the dust?"

"Eliminated. They're pay is no longer our concern."

"Good," she replied, this time lighting a ball of fire in her hands, illuminating part of her face. "Now, it's time to get enough people to take them down."

_Ozpin's Office_

He sat back in his chair, and looked over the chessboard. Putting his knight where it was, was a very risky move. It was something that he hadn't noticed at the time, but it was a move that left him more exposed then he intended. He heard a slight tap on his door, and he called for them to come in. The door opened up, and team RWBY walked into the room.

"Ah, RWBY," he said. "How did it go?"

"They're taken care of," Ruby said.

"Good to hear," he replied, leaning back. "Any extra details to add in?"

"No," Weiss added in. "It was pretty cut and dry. Only 15 men too."

"Only 15?" Ozpin asked, slightly amused. "Maybe I shouldn't of have sent you."

"It's fine," Yang said. "It's felt good to get in a good pounding." Ozpin snorted, and waved his hand in dismissile.

"Forget the reports," he said. "I think that I don't need it for this one."

"Thank you," Blake said appreciatively.

"You've done enough for us for now. You do realize what other people think of you?" RWBY shook their heads. "Many hunter teams don't believe me when I tell them that one of our most effective team, is still trying to finish their last year of school." Everyone smiled in slight satisfaction. "But be warned, do not let this get into your heads. Those that become arrogant, often perish in battle." RWBY nodded.

"Don't worry about us Ozpin," Ruby said. "We won't get arrogant."

"I certainly hope so, Ms. Rose. For your sake, I certainly hope so." All of RWBY left the room, and Ozpin was left with the board. He heard his scroll go off, and he quickly checked the message.

_Queen to H4_

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

They threw the door open, and walked loudly into their dorm. Well, Ruby and Yang had walked into the dorm loudly. Weiss and Blake were content to let their partners barge into the dorm, and then walk in after them, a little more quietly then them of course.

"Another one down," Ruby said. "They're dropping like flies."

"Ruby," Weiss sighed. "It's one win, against 15 non-important members."

"Uhhhh, you find a way to make everything less exciting."

"It's my job."

"Find a new job."

"Oh, you want me to find a new job huh? Let me tell you something Ruby."

Yang and Blake just watched the whole scene unfold, amusement filling their faces.

"Should we help?" Blake asked.

"Eh, Ruby's a tough kid, I'm sure she'll be fine," Yang replied. The two girls watched on as their teammates continued to argue, neither side gaining a clear edge. If this was how it was when they protected dust shops, they would be having a much harder time.

_Unknown Location_

She twirled around the flames in her palm. They had agreed, agreed to her terms. It seemed that the White Fang had wanted the four girls out of the way just as much as they had. _Mutual interests often form the best business relations, _she thought. It would take time to get the manpower she had wanted, but she was patient. If hunting her pray meant that she had to wait a few more days, then let it. The good hunters, were willing to wait on their next meal.

_Beacon Academy: RWBY's Dorm: A few minute later_

Ruby and Weiss had finally made up {though they had not kissed, much to Yang's disappointment} and they returned to their normal roles. Yang looked over at Weiss, and realized how hard of a time that she was giving Ruby. She decided it was her sisterly duties to assist her sister, and Yang quickly stood up.

"Hey Weiss," she called out. "Can I talk to you?" Weiss looked at Yang, slightly surprised at the brawler's request. Weiss nodded, and Yang wasted no time in dragging her out of the dorm. Yang brought her into the hallway, and looked at her carefully.

"What do you want?" Weiss asked, somewhat annoyed.

"I want to know something," Yang replied. "How has your relationship been going with my sister?" Weiss seemed slightly surprised at the question. It was rare for Yang to ever question her sisters judgement, no matter how much she wanted to.

"It's fine," Weiss replied, trying to sound as calm as possible. "Why?"

"Oh, just curious." Weiss nodded, but Yang pushed her against the wall. Yang brought her face within inches of Weiss', and made sure that she held eye contact with the heiress.

"Just know Weiss," Yang said. "If you ever, _ever, _try to hurt my baby sister. I will do everything in my power, to make sure that you meet a slow and painful ending."

"You've used that threat before," Weiss replied smoothly. This was not the first time Yang had decided to pull the girl aside. As a matter of fact, it had almost become routine. Every time that Yang saw Weiss and Ruby have an argument, she seemed to pull her aside. Well, Ruby and Weiss very rarely saw eye to eye on anything. At first, the brawler's threats had terrified the heiress. Her body had seen plenty of punishment over the years, she had the scars to prove it. Weiss wasn't exactly eager to add the brawler to the list of people that had taken a shot at her. But, soon Weiss realized that the threats were more of Yang acting on a protective instinct, rather then her actually making a solid threat to the heiress.

When Yang and Blake had first come back after Ruby and Weiss had gotten together, Yang was unsure of how to react. She saw Ruby's head, drunkenly passed out on Weiss' chest. Weiss was still awake at the time, and she was even more unsure of what to do when Yang walked in.

"Weiss?" Yang had asked. "What's going on?"

"Oh," Weiss had replied, slightly panicked. "Ruby left not too long ago, and I thought that she was tinkering with Crescent Rose. She came back a little drunk, so I decided to comfort her. I guess that she passed out."

"That was nice of you," Yang had replied, slightly suspicious. Weiss had just nodded, and looked down at the girl on her chest.

"So Ruby just drunkenly passed out?" Blake had asked. Weiss nodded again. "After you tried to nurse her?" Weiss nodded again. "Why are you on her bed?" Weiss had paused.

"She asked me too," she tried weakly. Unfortunately, Yang had seen what Blake tried to exposed.

"Weiss?" Yang had asked, somewhat concerned. "Why are you letting my sister rest her head on your chest?"

"I didn't want to wake her," Weiss had replied, her voice getting weaker and less confident with every word. It really didn't take a whole lot longer for Yang to get the truth from Weiss, and she had promised to let Ruby figure it out on her own. Since then, Yang taken every opportunity to speak with Weiss in private, giving her threat after threat. Soon, Weiss developed a thick skin to it, ignoring Yang's threats with every opportunity.

_Team RWBY's Dorm: Moments Before_

Weiss and Yang had left the dorm, leaving Ruby and Blake alone to their devices. Blake, of course, pulled out a book. Ruby sat in her bed, really unsure of what to do. She and Weiss shared very few traits, but one thing that they did share, was that none of them really knew what to do when they were alone with Blake. For Ruby, it was especially bad. Her first talking point with Blake had been about books, but now it was a subject that was difficult for her to connect on. It certainly didn't seem to help that Blake was dating her older sister, which only made interactions more awkward between the two.

After Ruby had found out about Blake and Yang, the first thing she did was ask Blake why. Yang was the type of person that would have several boyfriends come and go, but never once did Ruby see her with a girl. Perhaps that was why her boyfriends only ever lasted a few days. The idea that she was going to date Blake worried Ruby, but at the same time it inspired confidence. The two girls always had a back and forth relationship, but Ruby was scared that it would affect her team, and most importantly, herself. She had tried to confront Blake, but it was to avail.

As far as Blake went, she was patient. She would always humor her leader, but everyone had a point where they would break. Questions about her and Yang's relationship, Blake considered to be too far. She simply disliked other people asking questions, so she tried to do the same. Unfortunately, Blake was very curious about people. She had eventually given in to Ruby's constant requests, thus causing her to learn a lot about their leader. But after that one moment, the two girls had been somewhat distant. Blake really only had a close relationship with Yang. Nothing bothered her more, and she had vowed to change that.

The door opened up, and their partners reentered the dorm. Weiss wordlessly crawled into her bed, choosing to fall asleep rather then try to resist her partner's requests. Yang just started to pester Blake, attempting to get back in bed with her. Ruby looked down at Weiss, and made her decision. She curled up in her bed, and let her eyes gently close.

_Unknown Location_

She had snuffed out the flames. The plan moved along a lot faster then she had ever expected. The people she was waiting on, were already there. They could move the plan into action as soon as tomorrow. So, why should she wait?

_Knight to F3_

**End: Sorry that I went shorter again {I'm disappointed in myself}, but I really did not want to push this chapter beyond the ending that I needed. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	6. Chapter 6

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 6

**At some point in time, I cracked 10 followers and didn't realize it =P. Thank you for the initial support for this story.**

_Queen to H6_

The crew was assembled. She look at them, smiling in immense pleasure. It was time to ease some of their troubles, to relieve the burden. The flames that rested in the palm of her hand, illuminating her dress, making it burn more then it already appeared to be. The men piled in, and the pawns trailed shortly. Yes, another group of pawns would have to be eliminated in order for this plan to be executed. But that didn't bother her. In the grand scheme of things, losing a pawn or two was necessary in order to achieve the ultimate goal of victory.

_Small Dust Shop: Later on in the Night_

The shopkeeper wiped off the case, taking great care to relieve it of the stains. It was ugly when it was decorated with the unnecessary colors of red. So pointless to rob him. He was just a small time dust shop owner, nothing of extreme value was held in his shop. Still, people would take any shot at robbing anywhere that wasn't under the immediate protection of team RWBY. He heard his door open, and he looked up to see 10 men enter his shop.

"Oh for fucks sake," he grumbled, recognizing the uniforms they wore. The black suits and red ties seemed to mock him, letting him know that there was nothing he could do. Two of them raised up pistols, and the shopkeeper backed away from the shelf.

Outside of the shop, he was watching over the events carefully. Everything was in position, all that was needed, was the flame to ignite the fuse. He pulled out his scroll, and dialed a number.

"911, what's your emergency?" The operator asked.

"I think that I'm witnessing a robbery," he replied, fumes puffing out of the cigar as he spoke. "There are 10 men in a shop, and two of them have a riffle pointed at the shopkeeper."

"Tracking your signal now, and we're sending over a team of hunters."

"Thank you." He closed his scroll, and tipped out the ash from his cigar. Now, it was only a matter of time until the explosion occurred.

_Beacon Academy: Airfield_

_Knight to F5_

Ozpin patiently awaited the girls. There had been no doubt in his mind as to whom to call for. It was the same dust shop they had stopped from being robbed just a few nights ago, thus leading him to believe that they were hoping to get away with it during a second attempt. It was not uncommon for things to play out this way, several people had already attempted that. Perhaps a second dose of RWBY would prevent the disease from coming back. The girls wordlessly climbed into the airship, and took off. Ozpin smiled at the sight. No need for any more lectures on what to expect.

_Small Dust Shop: Later on_

_Queen to H2_

Team RWBY silently walked through the streets, making there way to the dust shop. The pilot had already been told to wait for them, and now they just had to take care of business. The team reached the dust shop, and quietly looked over the situation. The setup was the same as before. Two guards watched the streets, while two guards held riffles to the shopkeeper.

"Same plan as before," Ruby whispered to her team. They all nodded, and made a run for the shop.

_Bishop to B4_

He watched them crash through the window, and take down the four guards with riffles. He smiled cruelly, and tipped out some of the ash from his cigar. He gestured for two of the White Fang assisting them to come with him. They were certainly in for a surprise. He jumped down from his spot, and looked at the store. He could hear them talking to the men, but it didn't matter to him.

"Red!" He yelled out. Team RWBY turned to face him, and they looked slightly surprised at the sight of him. Ruby was the first to recover. She raised up her scythe, and left exited the shop. Weiss trailed her, leaving Blake and Yang to deal with the other six guards left inside. No matter, he only needed some of them to come out, for now.

"You're not very bright, are you?" Weiss asked, raising up her rapier.

"Oh, you could never be more wrong _heiress_," he replied. "Why don't you bring the rest of your team out here, so we can talk like civilized people?"

"Fat chance," Ruby said, raising up her scythe.

"Then I guess I have to start without them." White Fang, and Torchwick's normal guards emerged on the roofs. Many of them had riffles, and those with weapons started to jump down to them. Ruby looked around, and realized how many were present. It was a setup. The whole thing was setup, designed to entrap them.

"Blake, Yang!" Ruby yelled out. The two girls looked outside, and their eyes widened. They had already taken care of the guards inside of the shop, and they quickly began to run outside. Just as they got there, the guards on the roof open fired. The four girls were forced to break away from each other.

Blake knew that if someone didn't stop the barrage of fire from the roofs, they would most likely suffer heavy damage. She quickly reared back her arm, and threw her ribbon onto the roof. She propelled herself on top of the roof, and two White Fang turned to face her, surprise riddling their faces. Blake switched back Shroud into a katana, and brought the blade into the chest of the first White Fang. She used his body to absorb the bullets from the other riffle, and she finally heard the click she was waiting on. She tossed the body off of her blade, and caused the other White Fang to falter. She quickly brought the blade across his neck, relieving his head from his body. She looked across the way, and saw several more guards lining every roof around them. Blake picked up the riffle that the first one had dropped, and started to open fire on the guards.

Yang had taken the separation as an opportunity to crash into the guards. She quickly swung her fist in an uppercut, and fired off a shot into his chin. The front end of his face was burned off, and Yang quickly ducked under his corpse. The dust rounds being fired at her were unable to pierce all the way through the corpse, and she continued to hold it up as a shield. Another guard saw the opportunity, and tried to run at Yang. She fired off two shots from her gauntlets into the corpse, and propelled the body into the one charging her. Before any of the rooftop marksman could train their gaze on her, she picked up the guard that she had thrown the body at, and raised him in front of her. The guards open fired, and his body absorbed every round.

Weiss had a glyph permanently hovering over her, protecting her from every round. She was trying to find her team, but she couldn't. A guard ran up to her, and swung around her cleaver at her. Weiss easily deflected the strike, and brought around her sword into his chest. Another guard ran at her, and she lit up her sword with flames. She quickly swung it across his chest, burning through his clothes and the blade of her sword hitting his heart. She saw three people coming at her from every side, and she turned the dial on Myrtenaster, and stabbed the blade into the ground. A wave of ice erupted from her blade, and the ice impaled the guards running at her.

Ruby was firing off a barrage of rounds from Crescent Rose. She angled some of them at the guards on the roof, and the other rounds were going through the ranks of the men surrounding her. She quickly twirled around her scythe, and brought the blunt end of the blade into the skull of one of the White Fang. She heard a loud _crunch _as his skull was cracked open. She fired off a round from that position, and blew a hole in the chest of one of the guards on the roof. She fired off another round from her weapon, and cut another guard in half. No matter what she did, they kept running at her.

Blake cleared out the last of the marksman, and sighed gratefully. She could feel at least a dozen bullets that had reflected off of her, and a few that had actually penetrated her skin. She leaned over the edge of the building, and picked out her partner. Blake quickly jumped onto a guard nearby Yang, and just nodded to her. Yang nodded back, and swung her fist into a guard's throat. His head snapped back, and Yang could tell that she had snapped his spine. She turned around, and fired off another shot into the chest of a White Fang.

"Yang," Blake said. "You're hurt." She looked down, and saw a large open gash going across her exposed stomach. However she had gotten it, she didn't even feel it.

"I'm fine," Yang replied. But she knew it was a lie. The blood seeping out of her only confirmed that her aura was beginning to run low. When your aura was low, you tended to rely more heavily on your weapon. She looked over to her partner, and saw the spots of blood showing through Blake's outfit as well. Yang decided not to comment on it, and just continued to fight.

Weiss had lowered her glyph after realizing that the barrage of rounds had stopped. She swung around her sword, and deflected off a strike from one of the guards. She twisted around her grip, and swung the blade through his throat. She turned around in time to see the blade of one of the guards come swinging around at her. She managed to turn enough to where it only penetrated a small portion of her skin. Before Weiss could retaliate, and guard's head was separated from his body. Weiss looked over to see Ruby, completely covered with blood, standing right there.

"Call for backup," she ordered. "I'll keep them off of you."

"Ruby," Weiss said, somewhat alarmed by the blood covering Ruby's body. "Are you okay?"

"Totally fine," her partner replied confidently. "Most of this isn't mine. Just get us that backup." Weiss nodded, and dialed in the number. Ruby looked down at herself, and sighed. Most of the blood that was on her wasn't her own, but that didn't mean that she wasn't hurting. She just swung her scythe into one of the White Fang, and just hoped that Weiss could get the backup in fast.

_Nearby Building_

He looked down at the scene in front of him. There were many men lying on the ground, but most of them were just pawns. Pawns that they had, and that the White Fang supplied them with. But the interesting thing, was that in quantity, the pawns made up for their lack in skill. They were damaging the girls as he had wanted, and now he just had to pick one of them. He saw the one in white standing off on her own, and he smiled. He tossed down the cigar, and popped open the end of his cane.

_Weiss_

She put away her scroll, and was forced to immediately bring around her sword into the chest of another guard. Her clothes were stained with red, the white working as a perfect backdrop for the violence that she was engaging in. She tried to raise up a glyph, but she no longer had the reserves to do so. Her aura was tapped beyond belief, leading her to believe that she shouldn't of have expended so much at the beginning. She triggered the ice crystal that rested on her sword, and tried to add on some of her energy. She swung around her sword into another one of the guards, and he collapsed as well.

"WEISS!" Someone yelled out. She looked behind her, and was only able to see a brilliant white flash that engulfed where she was.

_Queen has Knight_

**End:Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	7. Chapter 7

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 7

Her eyes slowly opened up. She could tell that something had happened, something that had caused her head to hit the ground. Weiss sat up, and saw what appeared to be her team fighting everyone off. She slowly got up, and raised her sword. Before anything else could happen, the guards started to run away. They all turned and retreated, and it took Weiss a moment to realize why. Several airships were landing behind them, all of them running around to where she was. Several of them wore white crosses, and Weiss realized that was they were medics.

"I'm fine," she grumbled. Every medic straight past her. Something was wrong. Why did they not insist? Weiss turned around, and the color drained from her face. Lying on the ground, with a small crater in her side, was her partner, Ruby Rose. Yang and Blake were both kneeling next to her, and Weiss quickly joined her.

"Ruby," Yang said, tears forming in her eyes. "Ruby, hang in there." Ruby coughed, and blood pooled from the side of her mouth. She didn't reply. Hell, Weiss didn't think that she could reply. Her right side was completely burned through, most of her flesh resting on the ground next to her. The blood was pooling out a fast rate, and Weiss turned angrily to one of the medics.

"Stop the bleeding!" She barked, her eyes welling with tears.

"I'm doing what I can," the medic replied.

"Well clearly it isn't enough!" Yang snapped. Blake recognized what was going on, and she was trying to remain strong. But it was hard. Her leader was lying on the ground, losing a lot of blood.

Another one of the medics walked over to Ruby, and placed their hand on her open wound. A green glow washed over Ruby, and the bleeding halted. The medic had to lift their hands up, and Yang looked at them angrily, her eyes having transitioned from the peaceful lilac, to the hateful red.

"Why are you stopping?" She roared.

"I can't keep this up forever," she replied. "I'm doing what I can, but I have my limitations." Weiss angrily grabbed the collar of the medic, and pulled her face right in front of her own.

"You're going to heal her until you physically can't," Weiss said in a low, hostile voice. "And then, you can stop." Another medic had to pry Weiss off of the other medic, but she fought her way through him.

The healing medic recognized the situation, and knew that her best bet was to just heal the girl. She placed her hand on her side, and kept up a very low stream of healing. Yang hadn't yet let go of her sisters hand, while Blake hadn't yet let go of Yang's hand. The other medics had finally given up on trying to hold back Weiss, and let her run up to Ruby. She just held onto Ruby's unoccupied hand, and cried over the girls barely breathing body.

The stretcher finally rolled over, and the three girls had gently lifted up their leader. Yang's eyes were still red, but it was no longer because of her rage. After she had placed her sister on the stretcher, she resumed keeping a close hold on her hand. Three medics were huddled around Ruby. Two of them were administering conventional medicine, while the third was slowly healing Ruby through her semblance. She saw the concern riddling the three girls faces, and she made a decision.

"Listen," she said. "You're not going to like this, but I need to knock her out." The three teammates raised their heads up angrily, and started to speak in a jumble of rage. "If she's unconscious, then her body will be trying to do less." The three girls seemed to consider this, and the medic decided to drive home the winning argument. "And, this will limit the amount of pain that she's in." All three girls immediately nodded, and she faced one of her colleagues. He gently placed a needle in her vein, and administered the medicine. Ruby's empty eyes finally closed, and she started to rest somewhat peacefully.

The airship ride continued on in silence. None of the girls were willing to say a word, but Weiss finally had to ask something.

"What happened?" She asked, her eyes still filled with tears. "Why is she like this?" Yang tried to say something, but she was crying too much to even attempt it. She brought her eyes over to Blake, pleading her to explain.

"We didn't really get a good look," Blake confessed. "What we did see was _Torchwick _running away from the scene. We saw a crater, and Ruby's body. It looked like you were thrown from the explosion too." Weiss remembered the light she had seen, and it all made sense to her. She just clutched Ruby's hand tighter, and looked down at her. A small green glow was still surrounding her, as the medic was doing everything she could to maintain her control.

_Unknown Location_

She looked down at the feed from her scroll. Sadly, she was unable to see exactly what they were doing at the moment. Instead, she chose to watch the feed from their fight. All of her pawns, and many of them had been lost. But it was all worth it to watch that one moment. The moment where Roman's shot hit the girl in the red hood. The moment, where she felt she had crushed the spirits of team RWBY. Now, she just had to wait and see if she needed someone to finish her off, or if the shot would be enough.

_Vale Hospital: Outside the Emergency OR: A while later_

Yang was resting her head on Blake's shoulder, sobbing softly. Weiss had left to grab some coffee, but both girls were convinced that she had left to let loose all of her emotions. Yang couldn't stand to see her sister the way she was. She was so helpless, so close to death, so damaged. Her sweet, innocent, baby sister. She knew exactly who had done this. It had to of have been Torchwick. No one else was that cruel, and no one else possessed a weapon capable of inflicting so much damage. Yang was grateful that she had Blake. If she didn't, there was no telling what she would do. She admired the girl. Her tough will, her ability to stay strong for Yang. Because right now, all Yang needed was a strong will to hold her crumbling one.

Blake held the broken brawler's head on her shoulder. She wanted to do exactly as Yang was doing, break down. But, she still had Ruby. There was no telling whether or not that would last, but Blake had to gamble on it. She had to remain strong, for Yang. There was almost no closer relationship between sisters other then Ruby or Yang. After Ruby's mother had died, Yang had taken it upon herself to watch over the girl. She had basically nurtured her from that moment on, and there was no telling exactly how broken Yang had become. Blake looked next to Yang, and noticed that the heiress was still absent. _Where is she? _Blake wondered.

Weiss was in the restroom. She never had grabbed the coffee, and had chosen to just sit in the bathroom. Her eyes were stained red, as was her clothes. She knew how many men she had killed, but she still didn't care. She felt the way she had always assumed Yang felt, angry. She wanted nothing more then to tear every single piece from Remnant, until she found those responsible for what had happened to Ruby. She wiped off her face, and peaked her head out of the bathroom. She saw Yang's head resting on Blake's shoulder, and she sighed deeply. All that Weiss wanted, was someone to be there for her. She simply didn't have that luxury without Ruby. Plus, she knew that her feelings must of have only been amplified for Yang. Maybe if she displayed some form of courage, she could help Yang.

Weiss rejoined her team, and sat next to Yang. Without a word, Yang brought her head up from Blake's shoulder, and pulled Weiss into a hug. All of the emotions that Weiss had tried to keep in check in front of her partner's sister, were let loose immediately. Blake joined in with them, her arms wrapping around both of them. Her eyes filled with tears as well, and the three girls just stood there. All of them weeping softly.

"Ahem," someone said. The girls turned to see the medic that had been on the ship, healing Ruby, standing right there. "They felt it might be best if you saw someone that you recognized," she briefly explained.

"What happened?" Yang asked through the tears. "How is she? When can I see her?" The medic pondered over how to phrase her next sentence, and then began to speak.

"Well," she said. "You can see her as soon as she wakes up." The three girls' eyes started to tear again, this time from joy. "I know this news sounds good, but there is some bad parts of this as well." The three girls nodded quickly, waiting on the rest of the news. "The damage she suffered was very severe. She will wake up from the anesthesia that we gave her, but we're not positive as to when that'll be."

"We won't go anywhere," Weiss reassured her. "We'll stay here."

"One more thing you should know," the medic said. The other three girls nodded eagerly. "We have another doctor with a healing semblance, like mine, healing her. But, when she does wake up, there is a 50/50 chance she'll survive."

"She'll survive," Yang said confidently. "She's a tough kid."

"You're Yang, correct?" Yang nodded. "Listen, I know that this is your sister, and I've heard tales of how strong Ruby Rose is. I wish that was going to play a factor, I really do. But internal damage is so complicated."

"But someone with a healing semblance is with her," Blake said. "Right?"

"Right," the medic reassured her. "But healing semblances are tricky too. It's especially tricky because we can't see what it is that we're trying to heal." She looked down at her scroll, and then back at the girls. "She's up. I suggest that you try to cherish the time you have with her. I don't know how much more you'll get." The rest of RWBY nodded, and walked into the hospital room.

Upon entering the room, Yang let out a slight whimper. Ruby's skin was so pale, that she already looked dead. She was hooked up to an assortment of tubes, and a nurse was seated next to her. Ruby looked up, and grunted slightly.

"Hey guys," she said weakly.

"Hey little sis," Yang said, her voice very soft and soothing. Yang walked to the side that the nurse wasn't occupying, and Blake trailed her. Weiss took the opposite side, and grabbed hold of Ruby's hand. Ruby leaned her head slightly over to the heiress, and her eyes lit up at the sight of her.

"Weiss," she said as excitedly as possible in her given condition. "You're here, and you look fine."

"Of course I'm here," Weiss said, trying to mimic Yang's soft tone. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I didn't know how you'd be after the blast." The white flash reentered Weiss' mind, and she tried to shake it out.

"What exactly happened?" Blake asked Ruby. She hated to do it, but they were left with no other options. Ruby had to remember what had happened, because Weiss certainly didn't."

"I saw Torchwick," Ruby explained in her weak voice. "He raised up his cane, and I realized he was going to shoot."

"Why didn't you move?" Weiss asked, suddenly concerned that Ruby had more injuries then they were led to believe.

"I did," Ruby said sadly. "It wasn't pointed at me." Weiss stopped, and remembered the blast. Something had slammed into her, of that she was sure. But now...

"Did you push me out of the way?" Weiss asked, her eyes suddenly refilling with tears. Ruby nodded slowly, and Weiss couldn't stand it. Her tears flowed freely down her face.

"Don't cry Weiss," Ruby said, weakly bringing up her arm to Weiss' head. "Please don't cry. I couldn't stand to see you die, and I knew that if I did nothing you would." Weiss just placed her head on Ruby's bed, the tears polluting the bed. "Weiss, it's okay." Ruby slowly rubbed Weiss' head.

"I should be comforting you, not the other way around," Weiss sobbed. "I'm useless."

"You're not useless Weiss," Ruby said. "Don't you ever think that." Ruby leaned her head back, and her eyes started to close. "I think that I'm going to take a nap."

"You do that baby sis," Yang said through her tears. "Rest up. We're going to need you." Ruby closed her eyes, and began to snore softly. The nurse started to heal up Ruby, and kept it up for a little. The other three girls arranged how they would sleep. Weiss and Yang would stay at Ruby's bedside {despite Blake telling them it was a bad idea}, while Blake would take the couch. Blake walked over to the couch, and went to sleep. The crying had deeply tired out Weiss and Yang, forcing both of them to fall asleep. The nurse continued to administer small doses of her semblance to heal Ruby, trying to ensure that she would survive.

_Beacon Academy: Ozpin's Office_

He held his head in his hands. The warning he had given team RWBY was more accurate then he had thought it would be. Most importantly, more then he had hoped it would ever have to be. He looked over the feed from his scroll, and watched Ruby push her partner out of the way of the blast. He had no knowledge as to what Ruby had said, but he found himself making the same statement that she did. Team RWBY would of have been down a member if she hadn't done it, at least now the victim had a chance of survival. He silent kicked himself for thinking it was such a cut and dry case. Now, their blood was on his hands.

_Vale Hospital: Ruby's Room: In the Middle of the Night_

The four girls were sleeping peacefully. The nurse was healing Ruby throughout the night, but she couldn't pin where the girl remained in terms of healing. Suddenly, Ruby's eyes shot open. All of the machines started to beep, and the other three girls woke up quickly.

"What's going on?" Yang asked.

"I don't know," the nurse said.

"Heal her!" Weiss demanded.

"I'm trying!" The nurse replied frantically, placing her hand on Ruby. The glow fell over the girl, but it didn't seem to be doing anything. Ruby leaned grabbed hold of Yang and Weiss' hands. She puled herself up to Weiss' ears, and whispered a simple phrase.

"I love you Weiss." She fell back in her bed, and her eyes fell to a close. The hear monitor gave one loud beep, as Ruby's heart rates dropped to nothing. The nurse checked for a pulse, and looked at the other girls sadly.

"I'm sorry," she said. "She's gone."

**End: Perfect chapter for how I'm feeling right now. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	8. Chapter 8

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 8

**Sorry about the late update, but I had a busy day today.**

Weiss leaned away from the bed, her eyes both wide and red. There couldn't of have been other combination of eight words that would make her feel the way she did. That one moment of fullness, followed by the feeling of emptiness. _I love you Weiss, _Ruby had said. That one phrase, one that she had never heard from anyone before, were her partner's last words. Weiss was already crying, but now the sobs became louder, and stronger. She was able to make out the blurry image of Yang and Blake, both of which were crying over their fallen teammate. Weiss leaned her head down on the lost girl's chest, hoping that there was some sort of miracle that she was actually still alive. But she heard what she feared to hear, silence.

Yang's head rested on her sisters arm, her eyes streaking with tears. Her baby sister, gone. The one thing Yang had worked to protect for so long, she could no longer protect. Even when she had gotten into Beacon, she was worried that she suddenly would be separated with Ruby. She looked over at the nurse sadly, and tried one last thing.

"Can't you try and revive her?" Yang sobbed.

"I can certainly try," the nurse said. "But I wouldn't get your hopes up." The nurse placed her hand on Ruby again, and funneled in more of her aura. She held this for a minute, but then lifted up her hand. "As much as I expected," she said softly. "Is there anything I can do you for you?" Yang shook her head, and continued to sob. "I'm sorry, but I have to report this."

"Just do it," Yang cried.

"I need you three to leave though," the nurse said. "It's just protocol."

"I'm not leaving her," Yang said, clutching her sisters cold hand.

"Yang," the nurse said softly. "Please, I don't want to call for security."

"Yang," Blake said, placing her hand on her partner's shoulder. "Maybe we should leave. Honor your sister." Yang gently nodded, and trailed behind Blake. Weiss held onto Ruby's hand for a little longer, and then left the room with the others.

_Bishop to D6_

_Unknown Location_

She placed her scroll on the table, and smiled widely. The game was not yet won, but they had received a huge piece. The girl was dead, and it was arguable the one most valuable to them. Yes, the girl in the hood had come a long way since Roman had his first encounter with her, but apparently it was a game of one step forward, and two steps back. Now, she was dead and about to be six feet under. The flames danced around in her palm, and she leaned back in her chair. It was the most relaxed she had felt in four years.

_Beacon Academy: Airship Landing_

Ozpin had regained his composure, and was waiting on the three girls to land. He felt deeply saddened by the loss of Ruby. After all, it was he who had insisted that she come to Beacon four years ago. But this wasn't the first time he had lost a student he was deeply involved with, and he certainly knew it wouldn't be the last. He had no other choice, but to be as strong as possible for the remaining members of team RWBY. He looked down at the items he had in his hand, and smiled sadly. Something that had to be done, but something that no one wanted to do.

The airship landed, and the three girls walked out. Weiss had her hand resting on her own shoulder, while Blake and Yang were in each others embrace.

"Hello," Ozpin said sadly. "How are you holding up?" All three girls just shook their heads, and Ozpin sighed. "I figured as much. I am terribly sorry about your loss. We're doing everything that we can to find Torchwick and Cinder, I promise you."

"That's not much consolation," Yang said angrily.

"I know," Ozpin confessed. "But we have to bring them down." The three girls nodded, and attempted to walk past him. "Wait," he said, stopping them. "There are some... Rather unpleasant things to think of at a time like this. Sadly, they are absolutely necessary."

"What do you mean?" Blake asked, now wondering about what he could be talking about. She was trying to hold herself somewhat together, keeping strong for her other teammates. She didn't expect for Yang to remain strong, nor did she ever think that Weiss could hold on. As a matter of fact, Weiss still held an empty look in her eyes. Still, when she was forced to kill Adam, her team became the shoulder for her to cry on. Blake knew this situation was different, but she wanted to be strong for them.

"What I mean, Ms. Belladonna," Ozpin said. "Is that I had extensive talks with all of you as to what to do if one of you were to perish in combat. It would be my duty to deal with the after affects." The three girls nodded, and Ozpin quickly looked around them. He spotted a bench, and gestured for them to sit.

Upon sitting down, Ozpin lifted up the bag.

"Your leader didn't have much that she wanted to delegate to others," he explained. "As a matter of fact, I think that her exact words were something along the lines of 'Just burn it all if I die. Not like anyone would want my crap.'" The other girls laughed sadly. Ozpin reached into the bag, and gently lifted the first item. It was just a book. "She told me, 'If I die, make sure that Blake gets this. It's a book that Yang used to read to me as a kid, and I think that that it might help her lighten up.'" Ozpin handed the book over, and Blake looked over the title.

"I remember that book," Yang said softly. "It's one of the ones that Ruby loved. One where the hero defeats the bad guy, and lives happily ever after." Blake flipped it over, and remembered what she had told Ruby when they first spoke.

_That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale. _

Blake didn't think that the reality of the scenario that she would get this book, quite sank in with their leader. A tear slowly fell from her eye, and gently splashed on the titleless cover.

Ozpin gently reached into the bag, and looked over at Yang.

"I think you had to know she would want this saved," Ozpin said. In his hands, rested Crescent Rose. It was no longer stained with the blood from their previous encounter. "Ruby told me, 'I've only relied on Yang for longer then Crescent Rose. I want the two things that I've trusted for the longest, to be with each other." He gently handed Crescent Rose to Yang, and she gingerly took the weapon out of his hands. She clicked on switch, and watched the blade that her sister cherished unfold in front of her. Tears continued to pour out of her eyes, and now the image of her sister was firmly planted in her mind.

"I have to watch over it," Yang whispered. "For Ruby."

Now, there was only one thing left. He pulled out his last item, and looked over at Weiss.

"You were the last person that Ruby addressed," he said. "She told me, 'I'll be damned if I die, and Weiss never knows how I really feel. Tell her to take the cloak, and don't ever forget about me.'" Ozpin handed over Ruby's cloak to the snowy haired girl, and Weiss just stared at it. Quite possibly the single item that Ruby treasured most, was now Weiss'. All she was able to feel, was sadness. Her last words, were living up to a promise that she had made Ozpin however long ago. She continued to look at the cloak, her eyes now completely empty.

"And there is one other thing," Ozpin said. He reached into the bag, and handed over a small slip of paper to Weiss. "When I asked Ruby who she wanted to take over as leader, she said you. 'Weiss has helped me improve the most out of my teammates. I feel like it's only appropriate that she should be the one to take over.' This was when I posed the question at the start of the year. In her first and second year, she had said Yang. After you took down the White Fang, she changed it Blake. This time, she selected you." Weiss just stared at the piece of paper emptily. If you had told her that she would receive leadership of team RWBY four years ago, she would of have done anything to get the job. Now, all she wanted was for Ruby to be back in charge, because that would mean she was back.

"You four are dismissed," Ozpin said. "I suggest you try and get some sleep." The three girls sadly walked off, and left Ozpin to stand in the open. He opened up his scroll, and checked his messages.

_The funeral has been arranged. It will occur tomorrow afternoon. Inform the girls._

_I will._

He put away his scroll, and walked back to his room.

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

The three girls walked into the dorm, and walked to their beds almost immediately. Blake sat down on her own, and took a long look at the book. She slowly opened it up, and started to read.

She never got past the first page.

She broke down into silent tears, and she quickly set aside the book. Blake looked up at the bunk above her, and hoped that Yang would come down to her tonight. She needed her warm embrace.

Yang gently engaged the safety on the weapon, and wrapped her arms around it. It felt cold to the touch, but at the same time, it felt warm. It reminded her of her sister. The sister that she would never get back.

Weiss laid above her bed sheets, and looked up at the empty bunk above her. Ruby's head wouldn't pop down, nor would Weiss scold her, nor would she lie in Ruby's embrace. She quickly pulled the cloak around her, and closed her eyes.

None of them would get any sleep that night.

**End: Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	9. Chapter 9

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 9

**Shoutout to a guest account for letting me know that Tragedy is an option for story categories. I did not realize that because I am dumb. Crossed over 10 favorites, and this story is finally starting to pick up in terms of views {which just makes me happy because that means that it can pick up in terms of success}.**

He walked along the ground, his cane hovering just above it. The freshly lit cigar giving off ash in his wake, almost signifying his arrival. He had finally returned after having gotten confirmation that he had indeed killed Red. It was the moment that he was most proud of since they had entered into his world. Those four girls were always in his way. Now, he had successfully removed the leader from the equation. Not only had he removed the leader, but the one that the others cared for the most. He swung open the door to the conference room, and looked over at her.

"I'm baaack," he greeted, waving his cane into the air. "You miss me?"

"Do not test this one win," she replied.

"Lighten up Cinder," he replied, circling around to the table. "Red is gone now. She was personally responsible for killing one of your two compatriots, and her sister killed the other. Not to mention that the cat killed Adam, who was our best bet at getting in close to them at the time."

"You are correct," she replied, the flames flickering in her hand. "Getting rid of Ruby is working in our favor. Sadly, we can't ease up just yet. This afternoon there is a funeral being held for the girl. I want you to personally conduct a dust raid, and have four others go on at the same time. Make sure that our best fighters are accompanying the raids you are not there for." She placed her burning hand on the map, and burned a hole through the table. "We will get this plan in action soon. And when we do." Her entire body lit up in flames, emitting a glow across the whole room. "The rest of them will perish."

_Beacon Academy: Team RWBY's Dorm_

Weiss lay in the bed, her grip remaining strong on Ruby's cloak. It was the only thing that she had to connect her, to her lost lover. She hadn't slept the entire night, but she wasn't tired. She felt as though she was still asleep, trapped in a never ending nightmare that only presented new challenges with every moment. She slowly stood up, and dragged herself to the bathroom. She tossed off her bloodied clothes, and looked at herself in the mirror. The ugly scar going down her eye, and several more that she had collected through the years, all covered in the same blood as the day before. She looked down at her most recent one, and angrily swung her fist into the wall. It should be her going into the grave, not Ruby. No one would care if she was gone. Only Ruby might even notice her absence, but that would pass. She was the snotty, stuck-up, bitchy, heiress. Not even her parents really cared for her. They would just auction off the company to make even more money. The loss of Ruby affected all of them. Team JNPR was grieving, all of the teachers were sad, Ozpin had clearly been affect, and the rest of her team were all devastated. If they had lost her, they might grieve for a few days, but Weiss was sure that it would pass. All she wanted, was for Ruby to still be alive.

Yang watched Weiss drag herself into the bathroom, and she slowly picked herself up. She was never able to fall asleep, her hands resting permanently on her sister's former weapon. She had never felt so empty, so pointless, so broken. She slowly climbed out of her bed, and looked at Ruby's dangling bed. She didn't want to, but Yang already knew that she was going to have to get rid of the bed. So many memories were held with that object, so many things tied to her late sister. When they had made the ropes like frayed to freak Weiss out, and then they actually snapped while Weiss was lecturing them. When she had slept with her sister in her arms, and rocked her to sleep after a long day with Weiss before they started dating. When she made the mistake of giving Ruby alcohol the first time, and she had cut the ropes in the bed on accident. One would think that they would of have chosen a better way to hold up the bed by now, but they never did. The method of holding Ruby's bed had led to to many stories. Yang slowly climbed down from the bed, and stretched out.

Blake turned the last page of the book, and wiped off her eyes, for what must of have been the hundredth time that night. The story was nothing new to her. The hero encountered a villain, the hero fell in love while fighting the villain, and the story ended happily. The types of stories that Ruby would tell her to read, and maybe have her lighten up. Now, all it did was make her sad. Blake knew that she would never get rid of the book, not as long as the image of the girl in the red hood remained in her mind. She looked over, and saw Yang step down from her bunk. _That won't ever happen, _she thought. _As long as I am with your sister, I won't forger you Ruby. _

"Yang," Blake said quietly. Yang turned around, and faced her partner. Blake just stood up, and wrapped Yang in a hug. "I need this right now." Yang just hugged Blake back, and kept crying quietly.

Weiss opened up the door, and looked at the two girls in each others embrace. She smiled sadly, and just furthered her thoughts. _If you hadn't done this, _Weiss thought, looking up into the air. _Then it would be, and you would have Yang for comfort. Why did you leave us?_

_The White Forest: Ruby's Funeral_

The small crowd gathered around the casket. The newly dug grave site was placed directly next to Summer's grave, a request that Ruby had ready for a long time. The sight for her funeral was her team, Qrow, Ozpin, JNPR, and some of the other friends that Ruby had acquired over her time at Beacon gathered around a red casket, with a red blanket with her emblem draped across the top of it. Everyone was dressed in their Beacon Uniforms, except for the remainder of RWBY. All of them wore a long dress, with their primary color, and a red stripe going from the right shoulder to the bottom left of the dresses. All of them had wanted to wear this in the lasting memory. The three of them had already given a speech, the only thing preventing them from crying being the fact that they had nothing left to cry out. Qrow had given a speech to begin the funeral, and only one thing was left. Professor Ozpin, someone whom Ruby idolized, had agreed to say something in honor of the girl. He walked up to the stand, and prepped the papers.

"Hello," he began. "We are all gathered here today in honor of Ruby Rose, one of the boldest huntresses I've ever had the pleasure of working with. She had a full heart, and she would never do anything to endanger the lives of her teammates. In fact, her life was given to protect one of the teammates that she so treasured." Weiss choked slightly over his words, and Yang wrapped her arm around the heiress. "Four years ago, I made the decision to invite her into Beacon two years early. It's very rare that I ever chose to make this, but she came in high demand through her uncle, Qrow. Less then a year after I made the decision, she lived up to what I had hoped for. Ever since then, my expectations that I held for Ms. Rose were only surpassed. This was due in large part to her team. At that, I think that there is one thing that must be done before we bury her. Weiss." Ozpin looked at Weiss, surprising the snowy haired girl. "There is a song that Ruby told me about, one you would always sing. Would you please sing it one more time, for Ruby?" Weiss realized what he was talking about, and nodded slowly. She walked to the front of the funeral, and took a deep breath in.

"Mirror," she sang. "Tell me something. Tell me who's the loneliest, of all?" A tear managed to find it's way to her eye, and Weiss had to blink it away. _I have to keep it together, _she thought. "Mirror, what's inside me? Tell me can a heart be turned, to stone?" She struggled to maintain her voice, but it was her lover's final wish. She managed to finish the song, and then she nodded. Many people clapped, but she just felt even emptier.

_Weiss, please sing me the song one more time._

_Ruby, I've already sung it twice today._

_But you have such a lovely voice. Please, do it for me?_

Weiss' eyes were filled with tears, ones that she didn't think that she had left. The three members of RWBY watched as their former leader was lowered into the grave, and the dirt was placed over. They reached down, and grabbed the one item that they had brought. A red, white, black, and yellow rose, to place on her grave.

**End: I'm really surprised that I got two chapters done for this story, but I'm really satisfied with this one. Getting pretty mad at how short this was, but I feel like it was the perfect moment at this point in the story. Also, Rapey Lemons {author of Blood Rose} followed/favorited and left a review for this story saying that it was well written. This is taking away from the seriousness of the story, but I'm having a total freakout moment that an incredibly well respected author on this website is giving me that compliment. Would of PM'd it, but I actually just read it so my freakout happened right now.**

**MINI MONOLOGUE WARNING: DO NOT HAVE TO READ**

**I've come a long way on this website. Started writing The Order {please god, do not read that story. It's so awful in retrospect} really just to fuck around and kill time. Now, I have the most followed/favorited OC story, and the author of {in my opinion} the best story on the RWBY side is saying that this is incredibly well written story {especially for my age}. I really want to say thank you for the support of my stories, especially those of you that gave me a second {and admittedly third, fourth, and fifth chance with how shitty some of my stories were} as an author. I really can say that I never imagined coming anywhere near this far.**

**Now for the normal ending, questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	10. Chapter 10

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 10

**Apologies for my ranting in the last chapter.**

The small group walked down the halls. He was in the front, his ash leaving a trail for the others to follow. Several of them had a small cart to push along the way, all of them packed with dust crates. They hadn't gotten that much dust in years, ever since they started to intervene. Now that one was out of the way, they had a small window before complete grief would turn to bitter rage. It was a window that they had planned to take full advantage of.

_Queen to F7_

_Beacon Academy: Team RWBY's Dorm_

The three girls walked into the dorm silently, and sat on their beds. Weiss suddenly felt even more alone, noticing that someone had removed Ruby's bed while she was gone. Weiss realized that all of the crying, singing, and grieving had completely tired her out. There was not a single part of her body that could stay awake, but she didn't want to sleep. There was only one thing that was going to greet her in her sleep, and that was Ruby. There was one thing that she didn't want to greet her in her sleep, and that was Ruby.

Yang quietly stripped out of her dress, not caring as to whom would see. She gently put on her normal attire, and started to climb up onto her bed. She quickly remembered about the quiet cat faunus that was lying beneath her. Yang made her decision, and slowly stepped down from her bunk. She ensured that Crescent Rose was on safety mode, and curled up with Blake and the weapon.

"I miss her so much already," Yang whispered to her partner.

"I can only imagine," Blake whispered back. There was nothing secret about it, she was incredibly glad that her partner had wrapper her arms around her. Blake felt just as broken as the others, but she was trying to cover it up. Throw some dirt on it, and call it non-existent. Her emotions just weren't letting her. She was the silent, strong, blank, cat that would be strong for her team no matter what. She had broken down once, and her team had been there to pick up the pieces. Now, she was broken again, but they didn't have any glue remaining for her.

Weiss opened up her eyes, and looked around. She was in the middle of a snow covered forest. How she got there, was beyond her knowledge and memory. She gently reached down to the ground, and placed a single hand down. When she lifted it up, and rose sprouted from the ground. Weiss backed away, and held her arms around a tree. _What is this? _She wondered. _Why am I here?_

"Hey Weiss," a cheery voice said. Weiss turned, and her heart dropped. Standing behind her, was her late partner. She was smiling, beaming even, at Weiss, as though nothing had happened. "How are you?" She asked.

"R-Ruby?" Weiss asked. "I-I thought you had died."

"I did," she replied calmly. "I thought you knew that?"

"B-but, I don't understand." Weiss sunk to the ground by a tree. "Why am I seeing you?"

"Because I wanted to see you," she replied calmly. Ruby kneeled down next to Weiss, and wrapped her arms around her. "So how are you?"

"Why did you do it?" Weiss asked. "Why did you sacrifice yourself for me?"

"I already told you why," Ruby replied, waving off the question. "I don't know what I could of have done without you. I love you Weiss."

"But if I had died, it only would of been you that would of missed me."

"Weiss, don't-."

"NO!" Weiss said, angrily standing up. "My parents wouldn't care, Yang and Blake would of have grieved for a while, and maybe you would of have grieved for longer. But eventually, everyone would of have forgotten about me." Tears streamed down Weiss' face, and she lost control of them. "You, you're irreplaceable. I don't even know why you picked me to be the leader." Weiss walked over to another tree, and sunk down again. Ruby walked over to her former partner, and sat by her again.

"Weiss," she said softly. "That's not true. All of us would of grieved you, especially me. I picked you to replace me as leader, because I didn't trust anyone else more. You were my rock for the past four years, and I wanted someone I knew would be strong enough to lead them." Ruby planted a kiss on Weiss' lips, and looked her in the eyes. "And I know that it would be you." Weiss threw her arms around the image of her partner, and cried deeply.

"I'm scared Ruby," she whispered softly. "I don't know what to do without you."

"You're smart, I'm sure you can figure it out." Ruby wrapped her arms around Weiss in response, and held her close. She knew that she had made the right decision. Ruby wouldn't of have been strong enough to go on if she had lost Weiss, but she felt positive that Weiss was.

"I'm afraid that this might be the last time I see you," Ruby said, her grip faltering on Weiss. "Bye Weiss. I love you."

"I love you too Ruby," Weiss sobbed.

She opened her eyes again, and looked around her. She was back in her dorm, it was early in the morning, and everyone was still asleep. _It was a dream, _Weiss thought sadly. _I knew it was just a dream, but I hoped that it was real. _Weiss looked at the red cloak that rested in her arms, and took a deep breath in. _I will lead them, Ruby. _She thought. _I'm going to lead them for revenge, for me, for you. _She walked out the door with her late partner's cloak, and made a beeline for JNPR's dorm. She knocked on the door, and she was grateful to see who greeted her.

"Weiss?" Pyrrha asked sleepily. "What are you doing here?"

"I had an epiphany," she said softly, her voice still weak from the tears. "There's something that I need to do, for Ruby. Do you have any white paint?"

_Dust Shop_

He walked out of the airship, and looked over it. It was a fairly large one, potentially large enough to house all of the dust they needed. He gestured for the large group with him to ready their weapons, and he pulled out a cigar. One of the guards lit it up, and then pulled out his rifle.

"This is a statement raid," he explained briefly. "This won't work the way things normally do. This time, we leave no survivors." The rest of them nodded with a cruel smile, and quickly chambered a round in their rifles.

He calmly opened up the door, and saw the shopkeeper's eyes widen.

"Just take the dust," he said, backing away from the counter. "I don't want trouble."

"What a shame," Torchwick replied, tipping out the ash from his cigar. "I was hoping you might justify this."

"What are you-?" The guard to Torchwick's right pulled the trigger on his rifle, and took off his head. Someone screamed, and all of them turned to see a girl and a boy in the corner. They couldn't of have been older then 15. _I made the mistake of allowing a 15 year old to live once, _he thought. _That's not something I intend to repeat._

"Kill them," he ordered. Two of the guards fired off a barrage of rounds from their rifles, riddling the two bodies. Torchwick raised up a pistol, unwilling to risk firing a round from his Candycane. He gestured for two of the guards to come with him, and opened up the door into the back.

The three of them carefully combed over the back of the shop, making sure that every place was clean. The back of the shop was massive, giving it more of a warehouse look instead of a dust shop. Him and his guards shot down several people, having to reload a few times. The bodies were littering the ground, staining the entirety of the it with blood. Many of the other guards were starting to call in other airships to help them unload it, and Torchwick had called for a halt to the amount. If it got too extreme, then they would of have gotten noticed.

One of the other pilots ran up to him, and began to explain. "We can't carry anymore. We have to leave." He looked at the rest of the dust that was stored in the warehouse. "It's a shame though. The biggest dust shop that resides in Vale." He let out a heavy sigh. "What are you going to do?" Torchwick raised up his hand, signaling him to stop. "What?" Torchwick walked over to a nearby janitors closet, and opened it up. A woman was sitting on the ground, crying softly. A small child rested in her arms.

"Well hello there," he said, leaning down. He tipped out some of the ash, and quickly looked over the crying woman and sleeping child. "What brings you here?"

"Please," she cried. "He's just a kid. Take me instead." Torchwick clicked his tongue, and looked over her.

"What an appealing offer," he remarked. "But you see, I've been through this routine. A mother offers herself to save her child, I take that offer. Fifteen years later, that very same daughter comes after me. Well, it took me four years to get rid of that daughter. I'm not taking that risk again." Torchwick raised up his pistol, and pointed it straight at her face.

"No!" She cried. "Don't!" Torchwick pulled the trigger, and painted her brains on the wall. The baby started crying, and Torchwick looked over at it.

"Hush little baby, don't you cry," he sang. "Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird don't sing, I'm gonna break that birdies neck." He pulled the trigger, and watched as the babies head caved in. "Or just shoot it in the head. It's far more efficient." He turned to face his pilot, who was just idly watching.

"I want you to drop off the dust," he explained. "Bring back a small airship, one with two seats. There is one more thing I need to do."

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

Yang woke up, her arms still around Blake. She had slept a dreamless sleep, something that she was grateful for. If she had dreamed, her sister would of have been there to greet her. _No dreams, _she wondered. _Does that mean...? _Yang looked over to Weiss' bed, and saw that Ruby's bed was no longer there. _It wasn't just a dream, _she thought sadly. Blake stirred in her arms, and Yang held onto her closely.

"Yang?" Blake asked. "Tell me it was a dream." Yang shook her head, and rested it on Blake's shoulder. "I didn't think so." The door suddenly opened up violently, and the two girls sat up.

"Alright ladies," came an angry voice. "I'm past the point of sadness, and I want to kill these fuckers." Yang and Blake turned around, and faced what they thought they had heard. Weiss was in the doorway, her eyes a blaze with anger. She looked different, and it took them a moment to realize what it was. Something was draped down her back. It was a red and white cloak, with a burning white rose in the center of it. Was that...?

"Weiss?" Yang asked, slightly surprised. "Is that Ruby's cloak." Weiss nodded in both anger and sadness. "What did you do to it?"

"Made it more personal," Weiss replied. Yang and Blake just stared at her. Weiss looked the same way that they had seen Yang look in the past. Mostly when someone touched her hair. "I'm no longer content with just grieving her, I want to avenge her. I'm going to kill them, every last one of them. Who's with me?" Yang and Blake both thought about it, and then stood completely up.

"Let's kill these assholes," Yang said. Blake just nodded, and Weiss turned to leave the dorm

_Bishop to F2_

_Robbed Dust Shop_

The cops looked over the scene carefully. There were dead bodies everywhere, not a single survivor had been left.

"Whoever did this," one of the cops said. "Had to be a cold mother fucker."

"A real twisted son of a bitch," another one agreed. "You saw the body of the baby?" The first cop nodded. "A real tragedy. How do people like that sleep at night?"

"Don't even know how they'd begin to fall asleep. Come on, let's report this one in."

He watched the events unfold. There were many cops, all of them a good distance away. They appeared to of have just finished up their reports, which meant this attack was on record. He looked over at his pilot.

"Get ready to leave," he said. The pilot nodded, as Torchwick raised up his Candycane, and fired off a round from it. The round smashed through one of the windows, and Torchwick quickly closed the door to the airship. It started to take off as the ignored dust was ignited. The whole shop started to explode, with several more explosions trailing after. The closest buildings began to collapse, and the entire side of the city started to collapse. Torchwick watched the scene in pleasure. _And with that, _he thought. _We begin the main phase of our plan._

**End: Torchwick is fucking twisted in this story. The three girls moved beyond depression and grief, and went to anger. Finally, a decent length chapter. Also, I can't play chess for shit {why did I base a story around it?} Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is always greatly appreciated.**


	11. Chapter 11

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 11

**Forgot to acknowledge two things. One, Merry Christmas {or Happy Christmas}. Two, thank you to ChaosPhoenix 11 for pointing out my error in the song lyrics for Mirror, Mirror. I absolutely knew the correct ones, but I was discussing with one of my friends and he said the wrong lyrics.**

He walked down the halls. Another victory, and one that could set the plan into action. He entered into the main conference room, and tossed aside his burnt out cigar.

"You must stop smoking those," a woman's voice said. "It will kill you one of these days." He turned, and saw her waiting at a planning table.

"So long as I accomplish this first, we'll be fine," he replied. He casually walked over to the table, and looked over the scrolls. "So what is this?"

"The window has closed," she replied, picking out specific feeds. One of them, showed the heiress with her former leader's cloak, and she looked mad. "But that does not matter. All of the troops are assembling, all of the dust is gathered, and we're ready to get started. All we need, is a time to begin." He looked over the feeds, and raised up another cigar to his mouth. She quickly tossed a ball of flames his way, and lit the end of the cigar.

"Why waste any time?" He asked. She considered this for a moment, and then nodded.

"So it'll be tomorrow that we begin," she remarked. "And when we do." She quickly ignited herself into a pillar of flames. "Everyone will know what it feels like to burn."

_Queen to G7_

_Beacon Academy: Ozpin's Office_

He carefully inspected his scroll. The move that had just been made, it looked like a way to prominently display their best move. Why were they doing this? He quickly changed around feeds to view the destroyed dust shop, and he leaned back in his chair. Once again, he was in a bind. The report was sent in prior to the mass destruction that had occurred at the spot. He leaned forward, and carefully read over the report. It seemed like it was Torchwick and Cinder, but they weren't this blunt with damage. He slammed his head on his desk, and let out a deep breath. He quickly took another sip from his coffee, and pondered the pieces laid out in front of him.

It took him a while, but something occurred to him. He had one piece left to play, but that piece wasn't ready to play yet. But it wasn't that actual piece that was the real thing he was thinking of. Why do something this drastic? It had to directly relate to the passing of Ruby. During her funeral, five dust shops were robbed. While RWBY was grieving, they had hit the largest dust shop in Vale. His piece may not of have been ready, but there's certainly have.

He checked his scroll, and looked at the most recent move. So many pieces were almost in play, one of his pawns on the verge of becoming a queen. Sadly, when a pawn is a pawn it becomes incredibly difficult to get it all the way through. He made a simple decision, one that might cost him later.

_Pawn to E6_

He checked around on his other messages, and found one more.

_State of the final piece is still unstable. If you're expecting anything within the week, we've got nothing for you. I'm sorry, but it might even be longer. Hell, the chances that this actually works is slim already. I wouldn't rush this._

_I understand, and I'm not. I suggest that you calm down. I am expecting something within the week. As a matter of fact, I'm expecting something big soon. Prepare everything._

He set down his scroll, and sighed. So his main hope wasn't quite ready. He would have to make do with his makeshift pieces.

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

Weiss studied over her modifications to the cloak. It still reeked of paint, but the girls had all adjusted to it. Perhaps she should of used one of the pain cans marked _low-odor _that Pyrrha had offered. They wouldn't dye as fast though. No matter, it would have to do. _I may be the leader, _Weiss thought. _But I'm going to make sure that you remain the symbol for team RWBY for as long as possible. _

The white rose, appearing to burn in the cold. Weiss was extremely grateful that Pyrrha had the expertise to paint images such as Ruby's emblem, otherwise it wouldn't of have worked. She pulled up the hood, and felt a layer of protection around her. She didn't have someone that was extremely close to her, like Yang and Blake had each other. But she felt as though she still had a piece of Ruby around her, her arms still holding Weiss close.

Blake had Yang wrapped up close. They had been excused from classes for the week, and it left them with nothing to do. She almost wished that she would of have had something to do. Blake was the type of person that best disguised grief with work. When she had killed Adam, Yang kept her occupied. Now, there was nothing to keep them occupied. _Well, that's not true, _she thought.

Revenge. It was what kept her going for the time being. The knowledge that Yang might get an opportunity to kill the man that had done this to her sister, was more then enough to keep the brawler going. She had always been one to act on rage. Hell, her entire semblance was based around her rage. The only thing delaying her, was a move. A move that would expose the cowards and bring them into light. Whether it be the man that pulled the trigger, or the woman that had orchestrated the plan, she wanted to feel their blood on her fists. That one move that was delaying them, was preventing her from getting that feeling. _Don't anger the blonde, _one of her teachers had told a poor student that was sparing with her. _She's never lost when she's in a fit of rage. Avoid her hair, remarks about her chest, and her sister. Above all else, avoid her sister. _Oh how they had made such a mistake when they had done what they did to her sister. Even if she hadn't-. Even if she was still there, there would be almost nothing separating her rage from their beings.

Weiss consciously made a decision, her first real decision since she had taken over RWBY, and looked over at the team.

"Alright ladies," she said. "I can't sit here any longer." Yang readily stood up, Ember Celica already on her fists. Crescent Rose strapped safely to her back. Blake also stood up, but more in confusion then anything else.

"What are we going to do?" Blake asked.

"Simple," Weiss replied. "We're going to talk with Ozpin. He has to know more then us, he always does."

_Professor Ozpin's Office_

"Yes, I understand that doing this in the first place was a risk," he said angrily into his scroll. He quickly paced around behind his desk, his anger boiling with every movement. "Yes, I know that there is no way to speed it up." There was another reply, and his anger only growing. "Just get this done, and then call me when it's finished!" He slammed on his desk, and sat down. He began to rub his eyes, and just hold his head there. Working with people was sometimes a huge burden. They were more personable then any machine, but so much more flawed.

_The human element. _Something that everyone always harped on. If he was working with a dust driven machine, he wouldn't be having these arguments. He heard a loud knock on his door, and his sighs only deepened.

"Come in," he called out. The door opened up, and it took him a moment to recognize who was there. "RWBY? Why are you here?" He asked, in a state of confusion.

"First off," Weiss said, the new cloak only just visible to Ozpin. "Is there anything else you could call us?" Ozpin thought for a moment.

"Team Bee, B-W-Y," he tried. "But nothing catchy. Plus, no team has ever had it's name changed. I'm sorry, I understand why you want it changed. But, why else are you here?"

"What do you know?" Weiss asked, placing her hands on his desk. He kept his calm exterior, but inside he was nervous. What did he know? Oh, where to begin. There was only a select option of things that they would ask him about. The one that he feared the most, was the one that he felt certain they would make this big of a scene over.

"What do I know about what?" He asked calmly, leaning back in his chair. "I know a fair amount."

"You know what we mean," Yang added in, her eyes already ablaze with rage. That was never a good sign. If Yang was already angry, that meant she had time to consider what it was. Even worse, she hadn't yet calmed down. He decided to play his last card.

"You must forgive me Yang, I have an awful lot on my mind at a time like this," he tried. Now, he had peaked Blake's interest. He knew that the faunus had figured out that there was something that he didn't want them to know about. _So long as they ask the right question, _he thought. _I can avoid anymore blatantly cover up answers._

"Cinder and Torchwick," Blake finally said. "You know something that we don't know, of that I'm sure." Ozpin sighed inwardly. _A rare moment of luck, _he thought. _How fortunate._

"There was an attack earlier," he confessed. "On a large dust shop. There were no survivors, and the remaining dust was blown to pieces. Everyone and everything on that block, destroyed. No one saw who did it, but the reports do suggest that it was Torchwick. I didn't wish for you to know about it, because I was fairly certain that you would want to act out." He finally brought his head up to meet their gaze, and he realized that it was shifting. "And I can see I was correct." The three girls paused. "This doesn't help us identify where he is."

"Why not?" Weiss asked angrily.

"Because no one was left to witness him fleeing the scene," Ozpin replied. He thought for a moment, and then made his decision. "Whatever those two have been planning, it's about to come into effect." Now the girls were interested. "From when Ruby passed, and you were grieving, there were five individual dust raids. That means that whatever was started four years ago, is about to be finished. That, is what I was keeping from you." _Please bite, _he thought. _Perhaps that this bit of information will be enough to convince them to not pursue this. _

"Thanks for telling us," Weiss said softly. "I just want nothing right now, nothing beyond avenging Ruby's death."

"Understandable feelings Ms. Schnee," he replied calmly. "I suggest you three get some sleep. No one knows how much more you'll get before shit starts to hit the fan." The three girls nodded, and left wordlessly.

**End: What does Ozpin know? Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is always appreciated.**


	12. Chapter 12

Tragedy of the Chessboard Ch. 12

**GOD FUCKING DAMNIT! I FINISHED THIS CHAPTER, AND THEN THE SITE WENT DOWN. ALL MY WORK, DOWN THE DRAIN. Merry Christmas to all.**

He looked down the lines of troops, and carefully inspected his guards. All of them, outfitted perfectly. The worse of the troops were all outfitted with one of the two reasons that they needed so much dust. The Nest of Bees 2.0, based on the medieval weapon called Nest of Bees. The original design fired off 32 rocket propelled arrows. Now, they've been tweaked to launch off 32 dust explosives. It wasn't a good thing for one on one fights, but even the least skilled operative could launch off a large wave of explosives. The second reason just being that they needed something to power the turrets on their airships.

"Everything ready?" A voice asked. He turned, and saw his employer.

"Of course," he replied. "Four years in the making, and our main weapon is supplied to every lower level operatives. Why wait another minute?"

"I agree." She climbed up into one of the airships, and he took another. Just in case there was a weird event where one of their airships were to be taken down. Two other troops climbed in, one armed with the Nest of Bees and the other stepped onto the turret. He tapped on the pilot's door, and nodded to both of them.

"Time to rain hell," he yelled out. The pilot nodded, while the co-pilot flipped the dials. The airships floated into the air, quickly trailed by an entire fleet of them.

_Queen to A7_

_Beacon Academy: Ozpin's Office_

He was sitting at his desk, contemplating his next move. It was such an obvious move, one placing his best move out right in front of him. It was a bold tactic, but it only had two ways of ending. A bluff, or a massacre. He placed down his scroll, and silently thought about his next move.

He noticed a small red bar going across the bottom of his screen, signifying breaking news. He clicked on the feed, and checked out the events. It was a large fleet of airships, moving their way across Vale. Something about their flight path, it was wrong to him. He suddenly realized what was going on, and his eyes widened.

_Cafeteria_

The remaining members of RWBY were seated with their friends, all of them having a lower energy level. The absence of the former leader of RWBY was very noticeable. Her exuberance was only matched by Nora, and no one could match her natural affection. Her not being there, made all of their hearts hurt just a little. The group heard a loud explosion, causing everyone to run towards the window. They saw a large crater, just outside the school, and several airships floating just outside. A loud alarm began to blare, and everyone started to flock to the front, and RWBY was about to. Weiss placed her hand on their arms, and pointed to two of the airships. Everyone's eyes narrowed in anger, as they spotted the two people that Weiss had pointed out.

_Beacon Front Lawn_

He looked out at the school, and smiled cruelly. Of course they had targeted Beacon. It was the most protected place in Vale, probably the most protected place in Remnant, and there was no larger collection location of hunters in the world. This place falls, the rest of the world follows shortly. He noticed a small hunter team running for cover, none of them outfitted for a fight, and he popped open the end of Candycane. He took aim at them, and fired off a shot. The initial blast took care of two of the members, weakening the aura of the other two. He took a second shot, and sent the remaining members into pieces. _Oh, this will be fun, _he thought. He raised up his hand to the man arming the Nest of Bees, and signaled for him to fire.

_Beacon Academy: Halls_

The hunters from the cafeteria were running out, trying to get out to the front. Team RWBY stopped at the window, and took a look outside. They could see pieces of the bodies from the teams that were unfortunate enough to be outside when these events took place. Weiss gagged loudly, and ducked away from the window. Yang recognized a hissing sound, or what sounded like multiple hissing sounds, and she quickly tackled Blake out of the way. The windows shattered, and multiple explosions occurred within the building. Weiss' gag had actually taken her away from the sight of the explosions, allowing her to live.

"Thanks," Blake said, bringing herself to her feet. Yang looked outside, and her eyes narrowed at the sight of the airships. She fired off two rounds from Celica to launch herself at one of the airships. Weiss flew outside, trying to get her closer to the ground troops. Blake pulled out Gambol Shroud, and reared back the ribbon.

_Beacon Tower_

Ozpin ran to the top, hoping to get the top view that he had knew would come. He had signaled the alarm, which meant that a large force would come to help them. If they couldn't defend the school, there would be no school for the hunters to help. He finally reached the top, and checked the scene. The pieces of several students lay around the school, with a few airships finally brought down. He saw Glynda doing what she could to defend the campus, raising up several glyphs to stop the explosions and turret rounds. He let out a deep breath, and just hoped that the help would arrive soon.

_Beacon Front Lawn_

Yang fired off two more rounds from her Celica, and propelled herself into the open door of one of the airships. She swung around her fist into a very surprised turret operator. She felt his chest crack under her fist, and then she fired off another round to go straight through his spine. She quickly brought around her elbow into the Nest of Bees operator, and cracked his windpipe. She tossed him into one of the other guards on the airship, sending both troops out the airship. The last guard swung around his sword, and Yang brought her Celica to stop it. She fired off two rounds at his legs, completely crippling him. She fired off a round to propel her elbow into his skull, cracking it completely open. She fired off two rounds into the pilots heads, killing both of them instantly. She fired off two rounds from Celica to get herself to another airship, leaving the other one to crash.

_Weiss_

She looked around at the airships, and raised up a glyph to block the flight path. The whole thing dead stopped, and the engines both burst under the unexpected apposing force. The four people within the airship jumped out, and rolled to their feet. By the time the first one stood up, Weiss already had her sword in his chest. She tossed aside his lifeless body, and looked quickly blocked the second strike coming her way. She flicked around her sword, and cut open a gash in the side of his head. She thrust her sword in between his eyes, and quickly pulled out. She swung her sword into the third one's throat, and just angrily glared at the final one. He raised up the Nest of Bees, but Weiss blocked the path of the explosions with a glyph. The force of the clogged up explosives sent his body backwards, in several pieces. Weiss immediately turned her attention elsewhere, and ran off.

_Blake_

She threw up Gambol Shroud to wrap around one of the engines of an airship, and fired off several rounds to cause the engine to falter. The guards were out of the airship before it could crash, and Blake smiled. It gave her an opportunity to exact a little revenge. She ran forward, and took off one of their heads before any of them stood up. The second one stood up, and Blake stabbed her katana into his chest. She swung around her cleaver at the final one, and cut open a large gap in the middle of it.

_Torchwick_

He fired off two more rounds from Candycane, killing off another team. _This is almost like shooting fish in a barrel, _he thought. He noticed other airships coming in the distance, and his gaze narrowed. He looked at the ground, picking out the charred bodies of some of the students. _So she is out and about. _He tapped on the door of the pilot.

"Fend off the hunters airships," he ordered. "Make sure that the turret is pointed in their direction. The Nest of Bees will work from the ground." He signaled for the Nest of Bees operator to follow him, and he jumped out of the airship.

_Weiss_

She pulled her sword out of another guard, and tossed him to the side. She looked over, and saw what she had hoped to see. Cinder torched another team, and turned her attention elsewhere. Weiss raised Myrtenaster up, and flew forward at Cinder. Without even turning, Cinder pivoted and tossed Weiss to the ground. Weiss rolled up, and glared at her foe.

"So the ice princess has come to avenge her rose savior," Cinder purred seductively. "How cute." Weiss angrily ran forward, and Cinder tossed her away again. "And how pathetic." Weiss stood again, and let her be overcome by anger.

_Yang_

She snapped another guard's neck, and tossed him to the side. She brought her fist into another guard's stomach, and then crushed his head in her hands. Her rage was completely consuming her at that point. There was only one thing that would cause her anger to rise. Upon turning around, the rage reached that point. Torchwick fired off a round from his Candycane, and his back was turned. Yang fired off two rounds from Celica, and propelled herself into the air. Torchwick instinctively turned around, and fired off a round from his weapon. Yang fired two course correction rounds, and Torchwick easily swung his cane into her chin. Yang flew back, and landed with a hard thud.

"Oh hello Yellow," he called out. "Come to avenge your sister's death?" Yang just stood up, and ran at him again. Torchwick fired off a round at her feet, forcing Yang to leap into the air. He swung around his cane at her, and Yang blocked the strike. He angled the end to the ground, and fired off a round. Yang was thrown back, and Torchwick smiled in his normal cruel way.

"I wonder," he said, walking nearby her. "Will you die slowly like your sister? Or do so fast like your parents?" Flames burst all around Yang, and she ran forward at him. He swung around his cane to meet her first strike, but he was forced to duck out of the way of her second strike. Yang let loose a barrage of fists that gave him considerable difficulties, until his defense faltered. She landed a blow on his cheek, and then stomach, and then chest, and then knees. He fell the the ground, and Yang wasted no time getting on top of him. She beat him to death, and then continued to land blows to his face. She was so mad, that it took her a minute to realize what she was doing.

_Weiss_

She fell down to the ground, and shakily stood up again. Cinder casually looked over at her, the flames dancing around her body.

"You really aren't that good," Cinder purred. Weiss ran forward again, and Cinder tossed her body to the ground. Myrtenaster landed a fair distance away from her, and Weiss struggled forward. "I can see why you had to rely on Ruby so much," she purred. "Because you're pathetic. At least I'll grant you one wish. You'll finally get a chance to be with your precious _girlfriend _again." Weiss thought. If she just lay down and let Cinder do what she would, then she would be with Ruby again. But that wasn't what she would want her to do. When Cinder was right over her, Weiss grabbed Myrtenaster and thrust it through her chest. Cinder sunk to the ground, losing blood fast, the life leaving her body.

"That was for Ruby," Weiss growled. She pulled the sword out of Cinder's chest, and thrust the blade into her throat. "You bitch." She retracted the blade, and Cinder fell to the ground, the life drained from her body.

_Bishop has Queen, checkmate._

_Beacon Front Lawn: An hour later_

After Cinder and Torchwick fell, the other guards had fled. Several hunters pursued them, while some of them helped pick up the pieces. Team RWBY had lost some more of the people that they knew, including CRDL and Velvet and her team. The empty feeling was one that some people would expect, but that didn't mean the main cause didn't stem from elsewhere. Torchwick and Cinder were dead, their path for revenge was complete. Now, they had nothing to keep them going. Ozpin approached the three girls, and nodded to them.

"Congratulations," he said. "You have taken down the most wanted criminals in all of Remnant. I know how you must feel right now, so I'll let you rest. Be warned, reporters will come, and I won't be able to deny them. You can answer with what you want, but there will be some questions that will be personal. You are dismissed." The three girls nodded, and silently dragged themselves to their dorm.

_Ozpin's Office_

He walked inside his office, which was somehow untouched, and sat at his desk. He checked over his scroll, and looked at the chess game. So he was unable to get the pawn to a queen, oh well. There was always the next game. He saw a new message, and looked over it.

_The project now has an ETA. Expect about 8 months before it is functional, another 4 before it is ready for action._

_Any reason for that long?_

_You know how difficult this is. We only have a few people that can even pull this off._

_Very well. Inform me of when you're done._

Ozpin set down his scroll, and reset the chessboard.

**End: There will be an epilogue, and it will reveal what Ozpin did. Beyond that, this particular plot is done. I'm going to shoot for the epilogue to be done tonight, but no promises. Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.**


	13. Epilogue

Tragedy of the Chessboard Epilogue

**See, I do know that I can change the titles of the chapters. Anyways, here's the epilogue. I wanted to show how team RWBY really moved on after everything. Addressing the pace of this story, it did move a little faster then I thought it would. But I realized that Torchwick and Cinder would have one real opportunity to take advantage of the fact that the remainder of RWBY was grieving, and that they would be virtually unopposed in their conflict. So I rushed it.**

"Are you really sure that the project is ready?"

"Of course I am! It's been a year since the attack, which means a year since this project was initiated. I think that we can send it out there."

"Fine. I'll prep it for action."

_Team RWBY's Dorm_

Weiss gently stroked her cloak. It had become a part of her in the past year, never leaving her side. She had become very similar to Ruby in that light. _Ruby. _That word entering her mind again, the word that tortured her. None of them had really moved on from the loss of the girl, but it was the worst for Weiss. She was an effective leader, that much was never out of question. It was her recreational activities that took the hit. She hadn't tried to see anyone outside of her own team in a long time, even though they had graduated. Yang and Blake had each other, but Weiss was back to having no one. Today, was the day that they had decided to change that.

"Come on Weiss," Yang said gently, picking Weiss up from the bed in their apartment. "It's one night."

"I don't care," Weiss said sadly. "I'm not ready for this, and I won't ever be."

"Weiss, Ruby wouldn't want you to be like this." Yang paused in the sentence. It had been so long since they had said her name. "Weiss, I understand that you loved her, and she loved you with all her heart. But you have to stop moping around, and cheer yourself up. I understand that I did that through Blake, so I want you to find someone else that makes you happy." Weiss just went to her bed again, and continued to lay down. "It's a masquerade too, you won't even have to show your face."

"What if everyone there is straight?" Weiss challenged.

"That's not an issue," Blake added in. "Everyone there is looking for another woman, and none of them are men." Weiss realized that nothing she could say was going to get her out of this.

"Weiss," Yang said gently. "We'll be right there. If you start to feel uncomfortable, we'll pull you out. Just go for a little bit. You can even wear a proper dress."

"You will be there?" Weiss asked. "In dresses?" Yang and Blake both nodded. Weiss smiled at the image of the brawler struggling to get a dress over her massive chest, and nodded. "But only for a little bit, and only if you help coach me." Yang and Blake nodded again, and Weiss went to the closet. She carefully picked out one of her full length white dresses, and started to strip down. Yang and Blake both turned away, but Weiss sighed.

"Like I care," she grumbled. "Who would want me?" Weiss had lost a lot of confidence in the past year. In her first year, she had thrown forward a false image of self-confidence. She knew that she was spoiled, and it often lead her down a road of over analyzing her imperfections. There was always one person who had stayed by her side, and you can guess as to who it was.

_I don't care what you say Weiss, you're perfect to me._

_No one is perfect, Ruby. That's a silly thing to say._

_But not being perfect, and just being yourself is what makes you perfect. At the end of the day, isn't that all that matters?_

Weiss shed a tear at the memory of one of the many conversations like that that her late partner and her had. She finished putting on the dress, and quickly reattached the cloak to it. She looked over at her teammates, both of whom were still turned.

"You can look," Weiss groaned. Yang and Blake turned around, and walked over to the closet. Both of them looked over at Weiss for a moment, and then stood their awkwardly.

"Oh come on," Weiss said, laying back in her bunk. "I'm not attracted to either one of you, and I know that you've seen each other naked, and a whole lot more then just that." Now both girls looked down extremely awkwardly. "You're not that quiet." They both sighed, and changed into their dresses.

Upon finishing, they pulled out the three masks they had brought. Yang's was a yellow one, with the flame designs surrounding the eyes. Blake had a cat mask {which she didn't find amusing in the slightest} that was pure black, highlighting her brilliant eyes even more. Weiss had a white mask, that was designed in a similar manner to a snowflake. All it did, was highlight her red and white cloak even more.

"Ready to go?" Yang asked, strapping on her mask.

"I guess," Weiss grumbled. Yang grabbed the keys to their car {since Bumblebee only had two seats} and lead her outside.

_Elsewhere_

"Are you sure that this is the right way to start this?"

"I don't see another way. We've spent the last four months preparing to get this started."

"Fine."

"I understand if you're nervous, but I need you to bare with me. This is a plan that has been in action for a year, and I'll be damned if I don't see this through."

_Masquerade Party_

Yang parked the car out front, and stepped outside. Her brilliant, yellow sequence dress glimmered in the fading light. Blake stepped out next, her simple, black dress still looking elegant on her slender body. Weiss stepped out last, her white dress clinging close to her thin frame. Yang and Blake lead her inside, making sure that the heiress didn't make an attempt to run away from them and ditch the party.

Upon entering, the three girls sat at the bar. The bartender had been at the job long enough to recognize that this was clearly a couple trying to get their friend back into it.

"Who's buying?" He asked casually. Weiss raised up her hand. "So who you with?"

"No one," she said sadly. The bartender raised up an eyebrow. It was unusual for the single one to be paying, leading him to believe that she was more then financially stable.

"What can I get you?" He asked.

"Two beers and whatever boosts confidence," Yang said. The bartender grabbed two beer bottles, and popped the tops off. He quickly poured a shot of scotch, and placed it down in front of Weiss.

"Scotch to boost confidence," he explained. "Tequila is to party, vodka is to forget, and I'm out of whiskey." Weiss nodded, and downed it in one go. "You feel more confident?" Weiss shook her head. He poured another shot, and left it in front of her. "Third one should do it then." Weiss downed the shot, and quickly downed the third one that the bartender had laid out in front of him. "Call me over if you need me." He walked off to attend to another customer, leaving the girls to their own devices.

"Come on Weiss," Yang said, placing her arm on the snow haired woman. "Pick something that you find attractive, and just walk over." Weiss looked around at the tables, and thought about it. _What do I find attractive? _She wondered. _What was it about Ruby? Her innocence? I can't really judge that from here. Her personality? Come on Weiss, physically. _Something caught her eye, and then she saw a lot of things catch her eye. _Red. Of course. I can just pick someone in red, and go from there. _Weiss stood up, and nodded at Yang.

"I'm just going for red," she admitted. "I have nothing else."

"Sounds better then nothing," Yang replied. "Go for it." Weiss nodded, and ordered one more drink while looking over the crowd.

Since Ruby had died, Yang needed something else to protect. She had Blake, but it was hard to protect something that she had already nurtured back to health. Blake did more nurturing for her in the past year then she had done for Blake. That left her with the shattered heiress. For her sister, she would do anything to help protect the heiress.

Weiss scanned over the crowd, the alcohol starting to work it's magic. She could see several people in long, red dresses. All of them in that shade of red that she loved so much. She realized that a decision had to be made, and she decided to look for the one that looked the most lonely. She found someone who was sitting at a table, by themselves, absentmindedly shuffling around their shot glass. She wore a long red dress, and her mask was just a simple red one. _Why did everyone chose their dress to match their mask? _Weiss wondered.

"Okay," Weiss said, trying to get her head in the game. "I think I'm going to her." Weiss pointed to the girl in the red dress, and her two companions looked her way.

"She seems cute," Yang said.

"Pretty attractive," Blake agreed.

"Hard to tell from a distance though," Yang mumbled. "Good luck Weiss. We'll move to a table behind you. Call if you need us." Weiss nodded, and slowly walked over.

Dread. That was the feeling in her stomach. Dread for having to connect with someone, dread for betraying Ruby, dread for every reason there was. She could make a novel on the reasons that she shouldn't do this, and maybe make a grocery list for the reasons that she should. It didn't matter though. If she didn't do it now, Yang would drag her over. Weiss calmly pulled up a chair, and sat across from the girl.

"Hi," she said quickly. The girl looked over her, analyzed her, made Weiss feel uncomfortable. Weiss tried to look at her eyes, but they were covered up. Her mask had some sort of material that covered up her eyes, but it must of have allowed her to see. The mask curved around her mask, in the same way that everyone else's mask did. A technique used to try and allow people to kiss, without knowing whom they were kissing.

"Hello," she replied, in a much deeper voice then she was expecting. "What's your name?"

"Please," Weiss said. "I don't want to use names."

"Coming off a bad breakup?" The girl asked.

"If you want to call it that," Weiss replied cryptically. She could already feel the pain surfacing, the pain that was so difficult to push down.

"One side thought it was even terms?" The girl tried again.

"Please," Weiss said, her hand unconsciously rising to her chest. "Can we not talk about our past." The girl smiled, and leaned back in her chair.

"You don't want to discuss your past, and you don't want to use names, which heavily implies you do not wish to discuss your present. So what do you want to talk about." Weiss thought, and then realized what she wanted to do.

"Past," Weiss said softly. "I need to get something off my chest."

"Sadly not your dress," the girl said with a giggle. "What is it?"

"It's about my last, and so far, only girlfriend. We loved each other deeply, and nothing was going to break us apart. We both put each other through hell, but we stayed together."

"So what broke you apart?" The girl asked.

"The only thing that ever breaks close people apart," Weiss whispered. "Death." The other girl went dead silent. "She died saving me, and I didn't think she should. It happened a year ago, leaving me here." The girl nodded, and leaned into the table.

"You can tell me anything you need too," the girl said. "I will be strong for you."

_Blang_

The two girls listened in intently.

"Did she just say what I think she did?" Yang asked. Blake nodded. "Shit. She's screwed."

"The other girl seems fine with it," Blake added in, her bow twitching. "She's comforting Weiss. She may be a keeper."

_Weiss_

"And now, I'm here," Weiss finished, her eyes streaking with tears. "I'm sorry, but I needed someone else to hear that."

"It's fine," the other girl said. "I'm willing to listen, and be strong in this conversation. You haven't told me your name, but I feel like I know you. Please, just don't leave me until the unmasking hour."

"I won't," Weiss said, resting her hand on the other girl's hand. "I won't leave you right now."

The two of them continued to talk on for the night, trading stories, but never names. Names they were saving for the unmasking hour. It was almost that time.

Blake and Yang watched from a distance, happy to see how their friend was doing. It was good to see her in a moment of joy. She was always so down, and it always brought them to the reality of their lives without Ruby. Weiss being happy, made them happy as well.

_Pawn to G8, Queen Me_

The clock struck, and Weiss started to remove her mask. Her hands shook, making it difficult for her to get it off. She finally did, and just stared at the painted expression.

"Weiss," she said. "Weiss Schnee, known as the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the new leader of huntress team RWBY, and the one responsible for the death of Cinder Fall." She finally looked up, and saw the mask remaining on the girl, her smile even wider. "What are you doing?" Weiss asked, in both confusion and anger. "You were supposed to take off your mask."

"I already had a good idea of who you were," the girl said confidently, her voice seeming to of have changed. "I just wanted to be sure. You must forgive me, we had one chance at this."

"We?" Weiss asked, feeling more enraged now then ever. "What are you talking about?" The girl reached up to her mask, and slowly removed it. She looked up at Weiss, and took a deep breath.

"My name," she said slowly. "Is Ruby Rose, believed deceased leader of team RWBY, and the girl madly in love with the bratty heiress." Weiss couldn't speak, her basic functions not working. "Hi Weiss." Weiss tried to form words, but her emotions wouldn't let her.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" Weiss asked, her mind unable to accept this.

"No, no, no," the girl claiming to be Ruby said. "It's not."

"You died, I watched you die, I felt you die."

"I did die, but Yang saved me." Now Weiss was more confused then ever. She still felt as though this, this, this bitch was lying to her. A small part of her held onto hope that what she was saying was true. "Yang told the nurse to heal me, keeping my body close enough to life for me to continue living. When you sent for confirmation, Ozpin was one of the people that was on hand."

"I know that," Weiss said angrily. "This sounds like something anyone could have fabricated." Weiss stood to leave, but the girl grabbed her arm.

"He had the nurse continue," the girl continued. "Keeping me close to life. I lived in a realm between life and death for eight months, and then I was alive again. I spent the next four months getting myself functional enough to get back to you. Weiss, I never really died." Weiss tried to pull away, the tears now streaming completely down her face. "Look into my eyes, and tell me that this isn't true." Weiss finally did, and stared deep into the eyes. They were a deep, clear, and calm silver. The same eyes that Ruby had. They held a sense of innocence, a sense of caring, a sense of Ruby. Weiss realized that she was telling the truth, and immediately held her close.

"It is you," she sobbed. "I can't believe it."

"Come on Weiss," Ruby said through some tears. "I wouldn't leave you, not after I told you that I loved you."

"I love you more then you could ever know," Weiss cried. "I thought I had lost you forever."

"Never." Weiss continued to hold on, the tears coming out freely from her eyes. Ruby had tears too, but nothing to the extent that Weiss had.

_Blang_

The two girls watched on in fascination. Their words had become lost in the confusion of the unmaking hour, making it impossible for them to tell what Weiss was saying. All that they could see, was Weiss crying on the other girl's shoulder.

"The fuck did she do?" Yang asked, holding out her arms.

"Don't know, can't hear," Blake replied. "Should we investigate?"

"I guess." Yang picked her partner up, and walked her over to Weiss. She gently tapped the mystery girl on the shoulder, and shook her fist.

"Hey, bitch," Yang said. "What did you say to make my friend cry?"

"Yang," Weiss sobbed. "It's fine."

"No, it isn't. I was the one left to look out for you after Ruby, and I will not sit by while she fucks it up."

"But I'm not," the girl said, confidently letting go of Weiss. She turned around, and faced the two girls. "Hey guys."

"You look familiar," Blake mumbled. "You look like-." Now, the note was struck with Blake. She broke down, and fell into the girl's arms, tears greeting her shoulder.

"Am I the only one not getting this?" Yang mumbled. The girl was forced to push off of Blake, and looked over at the brawler.

"It's me big sis," the girl said. "It's Ruby." Yang's expression crumpled, and she wrapped the girl in one of her hugs.

"Please tell me this is the truth," Yang said, now being forced to fend off tears. "Please tell me this isn't a sick joke."

"It isn't," Ruby whispered, holding her sister close. "Team RWBY is back together."

_Elsewhere_

"I hope that this girl is worth 12 months of constant healing, Ozpin."

"Believe me, she is. You saw what team RWBY was with her, and how much different they were without her."

"I cannot argue your logic. Are you sure a happy ending was the right thing to do?"

"This ending was far from happy. A year of grieving is something that no one should ever go through. Even though Ruby is still alive, they will never recover from losing her. This ending is simply to best option in a pile of shit."

_Four years later: Team RWBY's Home: Ruby and Weiss' room_

It was a little over a year since they had been married. Both of them settling in with their lives, enjoying being called upon to help the innocent. But tonight was another night that Weiss awoke from her nightmares, and Ruby comforted her in the only way she knew how. By simply letting her know that her nightmares were just that, nightmares. What was reality five years ago, was nothing more then fiction now.

**End: So Ozpin explained it best. A pile of shit was their options, and they chose this one. Expect a new story from me soon {while I still figure out the shit that I left for myself in for Child of Grimm} and I think that this story came out good. Final questions, comments, favorites, and feedback is massively appreciated and thank you to everyone that read through this.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Haha no new update, or no epilogue part 2. Just a notification that I have a new story, a Harsh Reality, out if y'all want to read it. Using this story as a way to get it some ground, because I'm a punk bitch. Hope y'all give it a read.**

**-Codyknight22**


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